


Strange Case Of Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Hastie

by meefling



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Guns, I will add tags as I add chapters to avoid too many spoilers!, Insanity, Kidnapping, Knives, M/M, Major Injury, Manipulation, Physical Trauma, Psychological Horror, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Slow Build, Transformation, Violence, Wendigo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-11-20 00:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 55,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11325300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meefling/pseuds/meefling
Summary: After a surprise transformation, Mr. Hyde is introduced to a man who seems to have taken a strong liking to him. How will he cope as he has to choose between accepting his affections, or listening to Dr. Jekyll's recommendation to ditch the mystery man?





	1. Of Hydes and Men

Doctor Henry Jekyll and Mister Edward Hyde had recently found their transformations occurring without the aid of a potion, and without much warning.

Neither had an explanation for it, nor did either of them will the transformations to happen when they did. Soon they’d clarified with each other that these were unwanted by both men, and that neither had any control of their present situation.

They figured it was still safe to ingest the potion to change back when a transformation caught them off-guard in too precarious a situation. 

Unfortunately, they observed that taking the potion only seemed to worsen the random transformations, and both men soon abandoned the potion altogether.

One evening, and one week into the random transformations and after a particularly inconvenient change back into Dr. Jekyll, Hyde had already had enough.

“We need to find a fix for this!” He had said urgently, as Henry ran through the streets, trying to lay low.

“You think I do not know that?” He retorted under his breath, holding the collar of Edward’s cloak up to cover his face and hair. “I’ve no clue where to even begin tackling a problem like this!”

“Revisit your notes? Consult a better doctor, perhaps?” Edward complained. “Come on, Doc, there has to be something you or I can do!”

Half in a sudden strike of inspiration and half in wanting to shut up his alter ego, Henry spoke. “Maybe our body has had too much of the chemical.”

“I’m—come again?” Edward hissed.

“Perhaps we’ve been ingesting too much of the potion over the past two years!” Henry elaborated. “If we just let our body get it all back out of its’ system, then maybe the process will be restarted and we can take back control of our transformations.”

Edward was quiet for several moments. “Alright. Good theory.” Edward sighed. “Then how about this? Let’s abstain until the random transformations stop.”

“How long will that take?” Henry asked, exasperated.

“I don’t know, it was your idea!” Hyde snapped. “We will just wait it out until it stops!”

“Alright, alright,” Henry soothed as he journeyed to Hyde’s apartment to change clothes and officially greet the world as Henry Jekyll once more.

“We will wait these symptoms out. Once we’ve not transformed for at least a week, we can safely assume that we will be back in control.”

This conversation brought the two men to one month later, still transforming on the daily, and multiple times at that. However, as Dr. Jekyll took notes on his unique condition, he noticed the pattern of their transformations was lessening to only twice or thrice a day rather than the previous nearly once-an-hour nightmare they’d faced at the peak of their unscheduled changes.

He had also noticed that stress and other high emotions amplified the possibility of transforming, and on particularly busy days he’d recorded up to five changes a day.

While Henry worked away at his notes and observations, Edward was doing his best to find a way to control the transformations all on his own.

Some days Jekyll would find himself having to exit a bar that Hyde had attended that night, and some days Hyde would be forced to inform Jekyll’s guests that he had suddenly taken ill and that he would be filling in for the Doctor.

At present day, Dr. Jekyll was hosting a dinner party/sponsorship arrangement with a multitude of rich gentlemen and ladies interested in funding his Society, and he gratefully took the small group to his parlor to relax as they spoke of possible arrangements and general business.

The whole thing bored Hyde incredibly, and he remained in the background as he allowed Jekyll to take care of the meeting.

As if the man had jinxed it, Jekyll felt a familiar twist in his stomach and bit his lip.

“I beg your pardon Mr. Brunton, I’m feeling suddenly ill.” Jekyll said quickly, cutting off his conversation partner.

“Oh?” Brunton frowned. “How unusual. Is something the matter?” He asked, with a soft tilt of his head.

“Not at all, good sir,” Jekyll threw on a sparkly little smile. “I assure you, I’ll only require a few minutes’ rest.” With that, begrudgingly yet with urgency, Henry Jekyll left the parlor.

As he sped down the hallway, he already felt his body begin to contort into that of Edward Hyde. He bit his lip as his hair lengthened and his stature shortened. By the time he made it to his own room, Hyde was in control once more.

The shorter man cursed and went to Henry’s bed, seating himself. “This is the worst.”

“I’m aware.” Henry sighed from the bedroom mirror, running his hands down his face.

“Let’s pray this reverses before your business partners grow suspicious.” Edward looked at Henry with furrowed brows. All the other could do was merely nod.

Edward sat almost anxiously as he and Henry awaited their next change, but as the minutes ticked by, Henry knew the change wouldn’t come.

“Hyde, you’re going to have to take over my meeting.” He spoke up.

Edward groaned and let his head fall back childishly. “Must I?”

“You must.”

“Jekyll, I don’t know how to conduct myself in the same manner you do.” He retorted, standing. “How in hell am I to be a business man?” He walked to the drawer he was keeping his emergency transformation clothing during this time.

“I’ll be here the whole time.” Henry reminded. “Just follow my instructions.”

“You know I’m rubbish at that.” Edward grumbled as he stripped down, placing Henry’s clothing on the dresser, haphazardly folded.

“I’m sorry, Hyde, but when the other option is to let these potential sponsors go home disappointed in us—ah, in me?” he corrected quickly. “You need to take this.”

Edward tucked his shirt into his pants and grabbed a vest to wear. “Pshhh… Okay. But I’ll repeat literally everything you say.” He proclaimed. “You had better watch it.”

“Noted. Thank you, Mr. Hyde.” Henry said gratefully before dissipating from the mirror.

“Whatever, Dr. Jekyll.” Edward grumbled as he fixed his cravat in the newly cleared reflection before nodding a little and exiting Henry’s room to carry on with the business meeting.

OoOoO

Miraculously, once Hyde had entered the scene and announced Jekyll’s sudden illness, the meeting seemed to carry on like it would have even if Jekyll hadn’t left. Hyde cooperated with Jekyll and spoke well, smiling and behaving himself.

Edward appeared to be such a good gentleman that he attracted the close attention of one specific man. This man made sure he was the last to leave so that he may speak with Edward alone.

‘Once you see him off, you can have the rest of your time to be free.’ Henry promised as Edward approached the gentleman.

Edward nodded slightly to acknowledge Henry before he put on a smile.

“Well sir, I presume a carriage will be here shortly to collect you,” He said. “May we walk to the door together?”

The man smiled almost serenely at Edward. “Certainly, how kind! I was actually hoping to get a word in with you, Mr. Hyde.” His voice rumbled out politely.

“Certainly,” Hyde faked a happy tone easily. “However, perhaps you would rather speak with Dr. Jekyll, once he has recovered from his flash sickness.”

“Oh, heavens no,” The man chuckled heartily. “I do mean you, Mr. Hyde! You are a man of great interest to me.” Edward blinked.

“Pardon me??” He almost stammered, looking up at the taller man.

“You may drop the formal mask you wear,” He smiled. “I would prefer you speak to me as you.”

“Oh. Well then.” He cleared his throat, then all at once dropped his defensive walls. “What the bloody hell???”

The man’s deep smooth voice bellowed out in delighted laughter.

“Fantastic!” He exclaimed, and Hyde felt a smile tug at his own lips at the boisterous nature of Jekyll’s guest.

“Let’s walk.” He offered, and began to leave. “Don’t believe I caught your name.”

“Don’t believe I threw it! Just call me Hastie.” He said cheerily, trailing after Edward.

The shorter man grinned. “In that case, call me Edward.”

“Oh, well if you insist, Edward!” Hastie hummed. “I would love to speak with you again sometime!”

“Why?” Edward asked bluntly, glancing up to the well-built man as they walked. “I’m not quite the gentleman my work partner is. He makes all the public appearances.”

“Yes, well,” Hastie cleared his throat. “I am not using you as a platform to speak with him.”

Hyde stumbled over his words for a second. “What does that mean?” He asked as they approached the grand front entrance of Henry Jekyll’s manor.

Abruptly Hastie’s footsteps stopped, and the shorter of the two looked back at Hastie with confusion.

“Do not mistake my interest.” The guest nearly purred, smirking. “You, singularly, have captured my attention, Edward Hyde.”

Edward’s eyes widened and he didn’t realize he stared at Hastie for the following five seconds of silence they shared.

Hastie walked past Edward then, still capturing his attention. “I must be off now, Edward. You may retrieve my contact information from your business partner.”

Edward still didn’t speak a word, mouth hanging open as he stared at Hastie. The other man simply smiled in a charming fashion.

“I expect your letter within the week. Pleasure speaking with you!” He greeted before he opened the front doors on his own and stepped outside into the night.

Once the door closed, Edward heard someone clear their throat.

‘Your face is hot.’

Edward fumbled and reached up, putting his hands on his burning red cheeks and scowling as he turned around and marched away from the lobby.

OoOoO

“POOLE! Clean up the parlor! I’m going out!”

“Master Hyde!! Ah sure, of course--”

“Also, Jekyll is sick, he told me to tell you not to bother him for the night!”

“A-alright, Master Hyde, but perhaps--”

“NO PERHAPS! I’m going OUT!!”

“Yes, Master Hyde! Sorry Master Hyde!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Robert drink socially, and Hyde runs into Hastie in an unexpected place.

“How did your meeting with the sponsors go?” Robert Lanyon asked, as he lifted a wine glass to his lips. Henry Jekyll smiled at him.

“I would say it went well for the first half,” He reported, but his smile then fell from his lips. “I felt a sudden sickness midway through and had to leave the meeting.” Lanyon gasped.

“Is that right? I take it you’re feeling well again, then?” He asked in concern. Henry laughed.

“Don’t worry, Robert. I am feeling better.” He assured. “Mr. Hyde happened to be dropping by at the time. He told me I was too stressed, and decided he would carry out the rest of the meeting for me.”

“What a man!” Robert grinned. “Why haven’t I met him yet? I have so much to thank him for.” Henry heard a childish gagging noise that Robert went oblivious to.

“What does that mean?” Dr. Jekyll asked bluntly, taking a sip of his wine.

“Well, from what I hear, he takes care of you quite often.” The gagging noise was repeated, louder.

Henry shook his head. “In all honesty, Mr. Hyde has been an amazing asset these past several weeks. I think this stress of finding sponsors for the society has been getting to me.” Lanyon winced.

“I’m sorry about that, I wish there was more I could do to help you.” He shook his head. “I fear you think I’m unhelpful in helping the society get off the ground.” Henry frowned deeply.

“Not at all, Robert! Don’t ever think that!” He scolded lightly, placing his glass down on the table between the men. “You’re still a very important presence in this project.” Robert looked at Henry.

“May I be blunt with you?” Robert asked, before he went on. “I fear Mr. Hyde replacing me.” Henry’s eyes widened.

“I beg your pardon??” He asked in confusion. “In what way do you mean?” Robert looked away then, seeming dejected.

“I haven’t been nearly as involved with you and with the society as I should be, especially in such a time of need.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “Meanwhile Hyde has been at your side consistently, always seeming to be there to help you with this project. I feel he has become more relevant to you than I have.”

“Robert.” Henry said sternly, recapturing his friend’s attention. He smiled comfortingly. “I have known you since college and you are my most trusted friend. Mr. Hyde didn’t help me start the society, nor did he teach me any of the social skills I have today.” He chuckled. “You did that, Robert. You are irreplaceable. Not by Mr. Hyde, not by anyone.”

Robert felt his face heat up just a little at the words of encouragement, and he smiled to match his friend. “Thank you, Henry… I think I needed to hear that.” He took a deep breath. “When can we meet again? I need to buy you a proper drink!”

Henry beamed a little, before his eyes widened and he stood. “Ah, I, I will contact you when I am free next.” His stomach churned.

Lanyon frowned and stood also. “Are you alright?” Henry hurriedly put on his cloak and his hat.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” He offered a very fake, but hopefully convincing smile. “I am feeling unwell again.”

“Henry, you can’t go home like that,” Robert insisted, walking over and placing his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “Please stay here.”

Henry pulled away abruptly. “I need to go. I’m sorry Robert, I’ll,” He stepped back, headed for the hall to the lobby. “I will contact you. Have a good night!”

“Henry!” Robert exclaimed, as Henry turned and left as if he were pursued by a predator. The older of the two sighed and frowned as he collected their wine glasses.

OoOoO

Edward Hyde leapt down from a building as he neared his destination, grinning like a fool. He exited the alleyway he landed in with a little skip in his step, walking down the street alongside other interesting characters sharing his destination.

Blackfog Bazaar came up fast, and Edward positively buzzed as he neared the marketplace of oddities.

There were booths and tents set up to advertise all varieties of strange and bizarre wares; This place provided all, from magical potions, to enchanted birds, to the severed body parts of supernatural beings.

Or Hyde could just buy a tiny wooden chest that bit people’s fingers off if they tried to open them.

His eyes glanced over booths that sold monkey’s paws, lanterns that caught spirits, gargoyle statues, unicorn hair, plants that altered the abilities of food; There was even a store selling supernatural animals as pets!

The excited emotions of Jekyll, seeing through his eyes and experiencing this with him, only spurred Edward Hyde onwards.

It was when the excitement came to a brief halt that Edward faltered.

‘Hyde.’ Jekyll suddenly said, stepping out of character. He typically didn’t interrupt Hyde’s evening unless something serious was happening.

“Jekyll.” Hyde replied in an annoyed tone, as he approached a merchant selling infused gemstones.

‘Look to your right again.’ Jekyll urged.

Hyde ignored him.

‘Hyde, please.’ Jekyll whisper-yelled. Hyde scoffed.

“My night.” He mumbled. “If I’m randomly transforming back, I’m taking ALL of my time doing what I want to do.”

Jekyll groaned in annoyance, but went quiet again for a long period of time as Edward enjoyed the Bazaar.

Along he strode, entering a tent filled with interesting weaponry. He smiled as he scanned over the selection.

“See something you like?” The salesman running the tent came over to Edward, with a wide smile. Edward smiled back.

“If I’m speaking honestly, I like everything here.” He laughed.

“Wonderful!” The salesman beamed, scanning Edward quickly. “Have you a weapon preference?”

Hyde hummed in contemplation. “I suppose I would prefer something small, compact.”

“Perhaps you would suit a dagger, then!” He mused, bringing Hyde over to a table in the middle of the tent displaying daggers and small knives. Hyde scanned over the weapons. On display was a blade that looked perpetually hot, another appearing frozen solid, and a dagger whose hilt was filled with poison. Hyde wrinkled his nose.

“Ehh, none of these are quite tickling my fancy.” He shrugged.

“Are you perhaps interested in gloves or a pair of brass knuckles?” the man asked, straightening when he noticed Hyde perk up.

“May I see what you have?” He asked, and was lead to a shelving unit displaying gauntlets and gloves and mittens, as well as jewelry advertised to enhance certain combat-related abilities.

Hyde’s eyes caught interest in a set of four rings, the coloured stones upon each ring sparkling holographically. “What are these?” He asked.

“Ah! These rings,” The salesperson began, picking up the box the rings were set in. “It is rumoured that wearing more than one of these rings will separate you into multiple forms, effectively doubling your strength!”

Hyde’s eyes widened. “No. Really?” He grinned excitedly. “May I see a demonstration?” The man wrung his hands together after placing the box back on the shelf.

“I wouldn’t dare put them on myself,” He explained. “If you like them, you can try them on yourself.” Hyde’s excitement didn’t lessen in the least.

“How much are they going for?” Hyde asked urgently.

It was only after the transaction was carried out and Hyde had left the tent with his purchase that Jekyll spoke up again suddenly.

‘Ahead of you! Look!’ His sudden voice caused Hyde to jump, and he then moaned.

“My night, Jekyll.” He hissed beneath his breath as he deliberately turned left to avoid looking at whatever had caught Jekyll’s interest.

‘But you--he’s--’ Jekyll stammered and his voice tapered off again with a frustrated growl. Satisfied, Hyde carried on with his delightful evening.

His next stop was at a booth, bottles hanging from nails in the beams holding up a sign that merely read ‘Curses’. Labels on the bottles described the elixirs and gases inside. Hyde saw curses for bad luck, for attraction of ghosts, for hexes and jinxes, damnation, transformation, revenge, and all other manners of afflictions.

He was in the middle of examining a bottle’s label describing hypnotism, when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

“Edward!” A familiar voice spoke his name, and he looked up immediately to see none other than Hastie beside him, smiling kindly.

‘Oh God. He found you.’

Hyde’s jaw dropped as he stared up at the tall man, long enough for Hastie to chuckle and pat his shoulder again.

“Did not expect to see me here?” Hastie hummed and tilted his head. Hyde snapped from his brief dumbfounded state and shook his head.

“Hastie! No, I did not!” He laughed, trying to conceal how confused he was. “You seemed like such a good man!”

Hastie hummed as his eyes glanced to the hanging bottles of the curses booth. “I can still be a good man and cast a little dark magic on my business competitors.” He mused, causing Hyde to laugh.

“Sounds like something my own business partner would say.” Hyde replied, hoping said partner was paying attention. The small scoff and ‘I would not’ he heard a moment later confirmed and he snickered.

“You mean Dr. Jekyll? I’m surprised he is not here with you!” Hastie remarked. “I figure this kind of weird science would be up his alley!”

Hyde grimaced. “Not so loud.” He placed the curse in his hand back down on the booth’s table, and picked up another, to have something to look at besides Hastie. “He can’t have his reputation with the higher powers of this city demolished by being seen here.”

Hastie made a sound of acknowledgement. “Are you here on his behalf, then? That is dirty of him.”

“Definitely not!” Hyde cackled, glancing back up to Hastie. “I am here of my own accord, thank you very much!”

Hastie chuckled, fishing a wallet from his cloak pocket. “If you insist, Mr. Hyde!” He then spoke with the salesperson for a moment, making his purchase of several small glass bottles filled with phantom-like mist.

Hyde watched the exchange curiously. “What have you got there?” Hastie smiled down at Hyde.

“It is something for my studies.” He stated, pocketing the vials.

“What exactly is it that you study?” Hyde asked as he placed the bottle in his hands back where it had come from.

“That, you will have to ask my associate, Dr. Robert Lanyon.”

Those words made Hyde freeze, not unlike the way he froze at the beginning of this interaction.

Hastie watched him with that smile of his for several more moments, before he nodded. “Right, I will see you at a later date, Mr. Hyde! I still await your call!”

Hyde hardly had gotten a word out before Hastie had turned and disappeared into the crowd again.

The rest of Hyde’s time at Blackfog Bazaar that evening consisted of brief glances of a tall, friendly-looking man across a sea of people, and Jekyll urgently pointing him out, quietly requesting he move away from the man.

Unlike previously that evening, Hyde diligently listened.

OoOoO

“Don’t think this garners respect from me, Jekyll.”

‘I don’t think that! I only think you owe me some credit for seeing him before you did!’

“How did you even—We have the same eyesight! How did you see him?”

‘You merely don’t pay attention as well as I do.’

“Falsehood. You must be magic.”

‘I am not magic. That’s absurd. Magic isn’t real.’

“Magic? Not real?! Jekyll, we just got back from Blackfog Fucking Bazaar!”

‘Ugh… Point taken.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I initially started the chapter with Hyde's trip to Blackfog, but that only added to about 1000 words and I was unhappy with that, so I added some of Robert/Henry socially drinking together :')
> 
> if you have feedback or noticed I made a mistake in my writing, please leave a lil comment or contact me on my tumblr of the same username!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry experiences another stress transformation, this time for an audience.

As Edward stumbled into Henry’s manor, only a tiny little bit drunk and holding his nightly purchases close, he felt an uncomfortable twist in his gut. He grunted and put a hand on his abdomen.

“I don’t wanna, lemme stay out…” he slurred out, blinking one eye and then the other shortly after.

‘Edward, my room!’ Jekyll said quickly. ‘Go to my room!’

“Mmmmh Doctor,” Edward gurgled, dragging his feet down the hallway and past one of Henry’s maids. “Didn’t know you wanted my… Benefits.” He giggled. The intoxicated man missed the maid’s revolted expression.

‘Hurry, you’ll turn back in the hall!’ Jekyll began to sound panicked as the pain between them grew.

Hyde groaned. “Don’t sweat it. I’ll make it.” He grumbled as he made his way painfully slow towards Dr. Jekyll’s bedroom.

He barely made it to the door before he collapsed to his knees, gasping sharply and dropping his things.

Within another moment, Dr. Jekyll staggered up to his feet, feeling the full force of Hyde’s alcohol in his system. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face with one hand before he leaned down to collect Edward’s belongings and shuffle into his room.

‘Damn. All my drinks, wasted on you.’ Hyde grumbled. Jekyll scowled as he dumped Edward’s purchases onto the desk.

“I have your intoxication now,” Jekyll slurred. “Don’t expect me to pay attention to you right now.”

‘Yeah, yeah. Sleep off my hard work.’ Hyde grumbled.

Jekyll sluggishly changed out of Edward’s too-small clothing and got into something more comfortable to sleep in, and he crawled into bed, exhausted and dizzy.

‘I guess we’ll talk about Hastie and Robert tomorrow?’ Hyde mused.

Jekyll just moaned loudly and put his arm over his eyes melodramatically. Hyde snickered, before going quiet.

‘Goodnight, Dr. Jekyll.’

OoOoO

The following morning, despite his sizable hangover, the Doctor got dressed in a hurry, skipped breakfast, and spent the rest of the morning clearing a widget in his schedule to have tea with Robert. He made sure the other man knew he would be over, and at the scheduled time, they met at Lanyon’s manor.

“What is this about, Henry?” Robert asked with a frown as his friend handed off his cloak and hat to his butler. “You scarcely schedule a meeting this last-minute.”

“It’s very urgent. Something that happened just last night.” Henry stated, looking Robert over with a frown. He did look a little bit tired, a little bit worn out.

“Let’s speak over tea.” Robert mumbled, turning to lead Henry through his manor.

As the pair sat down, Henry gave an urgent look to his friend and gestured with his eyes that he wanted the servants gone.

Robert thankfully noticed, and told his staff to leave the pair alone. He did this with a hint of panic.

‘He knows we’re onto him.’ Hyde cackled.

Jekyll pressed his lips into a thin line.

“Henry…” Robert began, then heaved a sigh. “This is so out of character for you. This feels like an interrogation.”

“Hopefully it will feel less like an interrogation and more like a confessional by the end of teatime.” Henry stated.

“That does not make things sound better.” Lanyon pouted a bit. Hyde laughed again, wickedly.

“I’m sorry,” Henry shook his head and offered a phoney smile. Robert wasn’t buying it.

“Are you hungover?” He asked, in a tone of disappointment.

“You don’t know what I’m like hungover!” Henry defended, with a slight scowl.

“We went to college together, of course I know you hungover.” Robert grimaced. “And you, good sir, are most certainly hungover.”

Henry groaned and allowed himself to slouch in a childish way.

“It’s Mr. Hyde’s fault…” He said quietly, looking away.

‘Jekyll!’ Hyde abruptly screeched.

“Mr. Hyde?” Robert bristled. “He got you drunk??” Jekyll tensed.

‘Shit. Jekyll.’

“No, he got drunk himself!” Henry said quickly. He then went red in the face. “Shoot—no, I mean to say, that he, and I…”

‘Jekyll, stop TALKING.’

“Henry Jekyll, what did he do to you last night?” Robert seemed defensive now. “Is that why you need to speak to me?” Henry distinctly felt sweat on his brow, and in his clenched palms.

“You needn’t worry, Robert, I’m fine!” Henry babbled. “Hyde didn’t hurt me, he only treated me to a night out. We parted ways a little less than sober, is all.”

Lanyon just gave him an icy glare, not quite buying it. “I should call the coppers right now.” Henry swallowed.

“Robert, let’s get to the reason why I wanted to talk to you this afternoon.” He waved his hand, growing increasingly anxious over his blunder. “he swung by the Blackfog Bazaar—this was before Hyde and I met for the evening.” He added, seeing Robert’s growing suspicion. “He met someone there I believe you may know.”

At this, Robert perked up, blinking as his face went blank. He was quiet a moment before he responded.

“Did he, now?” He muttered, then rose his voice. “How come he hasn’t arranged this meeting to speak with me himself?”

“He wished me to do it.” Jekyll said swiftly, glad to be gaining the higher ground of the conversation. “The name of this man Hyde met, it was Hastie.”

At this, Robert closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

“What of him?” He said calmly. Henry stammered.

“What of—he told Mr. Hyde that you were his associate!” Henry cried. “You do not have an associate, Robert!”

“I don’t tell you everything, Henry,” Robert said defensively, struggling to remain outwardly neutral.

“I would have liked to know of another business partner of yours.” Henry shook his head in dismay. Robert shook his head back at his friend.

“He is not a business partner of mine!” He snapped, leaning forward a little. “I would frankly prefer to have nothing to do with that man.”

“Then why is he going about telling people his associate is Dr. Robert Lanyon?” Jekyll rose his voice a little further, becoming more distressed. Robert appeared in much the same state of being.

“I don’t have a choice but to interact with him, you wouldn’t understand my unique circumstances.” Robert looked about to say more, but paused, looking troubled.

Completely unnerved, Henry leaned back in his seat, away from Robert’s penetrative gaze.

“Robert, who is Hastie to you?” Henry asked inquisitively, becoming anxious.

‘Oh my god.’ Hyde nearly whispered. In the silence of the room, he was easily heard by Jekyll.

‘Hastie is Robert.’

“No.” Henry whispered as his own eyes widened.

“N-no what?” Robert looked completely rigid, curling up just a bit in his seat.

Henry stood up.

“There’s no way!” Henry went on, staring at Robert. “You and Hastie, you’re not, are you? Because that would mean, oh my god, how long, Robert?!”

Henry’s gut twisted in pain.

“Henry!” Lanyon rose his voice over Jekyll’s panicked one. “Slow down! What is the matter?”

“Don’t act oblivious, Lanyon!” Henry hissed, fists clenched tighter at his sides. “You know what I’m trying to say! I want to hear you admit it!”

Henry felt an urge to run away, but he stood his ground.

“A-admit what? I won’t admit anything!” Lanyon yelped, clutching the chair’s armrests.

“Admit exactly what your ‘unique circumstances’ with Hastie are!” Henry almost roared.

The pain got worse, and Hyde’s voice told him to run for it.

“Henry, sit down and let’s talk about this like proper men!” Robert tried, looking fearful. “You aren’t yourself!”

“No, don’t say that! Don’t tell me that I’m not—” In that moment, Henry collapsed in his chair and covered his face with his hands, gasping sharply.

Dr. Lanyon watched in mute horror as Dr. Jekyll’s body contorted before him, becoming slighter in frame and rendering his clothing one size too large. His hair grew out and lightened in colour, to a stunning blond. His breathing was quick and he grunted a little, his vocal chords even affected by whatever had overcome his body.

The sound of panting echoed in the room, and when the man before Robert lifted his head, he was met with a soft face, a small frown, and brilliant green eyes.

“In all fairness, I tried to tell him to leave before I came out.” He said bluntly, with a small shrug and an almost awkward smile.

Robert only cried out sharply and practically climbed up over the back of his chair to hide behind it.

Hyde couldn’t help a bark of laughter. He stood.

“Dr. Lanyon! I don’t believe we’ve ever really formally met,” Hyde purred, stepping over to the chair. He glanced around it to see Robert, staring up at him and gaping like a fish. Hyde offered his hand. “Mr. Edward Hyde, alter ego of your dear friend Dr. Henry Jekyll.”

Robert didn’t know what else to do, so he reached up with a trembling hand and grasped Edward’s offered one. He was tugged upwards roughly, gasping as he stood. Suddenly he had all kinds of words to say.

“Dr. Robert Lanyon, friend of Dr. Henry Jekyll and feeling many layers of guilt right now.” He said in a high pitched, anxiety-ridden voice. Hyde snorted.

“Good, well now that I’ve made our secret known and confessed all, I believe it is your turn.” He prompted, and Robert bit his lip.

“I really don’t have anything to say…” He muttered. Hyde tutted.

“Ah-ah, Doctor, honesty is the key to a good relationship,” Hyde’s smile became a distinct smirk. “Now fess up.”

Robert was quiet and he looked away from Hyde. “Just tell me what you think Hastie and I’s relationship is.” He whispered.

Hyde’s smirk dropped to a serious frown. “You and Hastie are alike to Jekyll and I.”

Robert said nothing. A full minute went by before he slowly nodded his head.

Hyde’s grin returned. “I goddamn knew it. I knew it!”

Robert looked alarmed. “How?! We kept it completely under wraps!!”

Hyde slung his arm up around Robert’s shoulders, making the taller man wrinkle his nose.

“You act exactly like Dr. Jekyll.” He mused. “If I’m to be perfectly honest, I’ve been onto you ever since Hastie took a ‘sudden interest’ in me at Jekyll’s meeting with his sponsors.” He went on.

“I-I…” Robert looked close to stress-crying. “Just follow me.” He turned and left the room, implying for Edward to follow him.

As Edward did so, he pondered over Henry’s sudden radio silence.

“Jekyll.” He said, out of the blue. Lanyon paused and turned to look at him with a startled expression. Edward shook his head and waved his hand.

“Don’t mind me, I’m trying to get the attention of a different doctor.” He winked. Robert scowled and turned to keep heading down the hall. The taller man’s anxiety was lessened by the absence of his staff, taking his previous order of staying away very seriously.

“So, Jekyll.” Hyde continued.

‘Don’t talk.’ Jekyll hissed. ‘Lanyon already thinks I’m a complete looney.’

“He already knows you’re a complete looney.” Hyde corrected.

‘I don’t want this to be happening.’ Jekyll spoke quickly. ‘I don’t want him to do what I think he is going to do.’

“I think I know exactly what he is going to do.” Hyde said simply. “I’m going to screw Hastie when I see him.”

‘You absolutely will NOT!’ Henry screeched, before launching into a long rant akin to a mother scolding her child.

He paused abruptly when Lanyon lead Hyde to his lab, entering and closing the door behind Hyde.

“I was not planning on making one of these today,” Lanyon said, struggling to keep his voice even as he spoke. “But I suppose this is somehow easier on my psyche than just saying it.” Hyde watched with intrigue as Lanyon mixed together his formula. It was near identical to Jekyll’s own medicine.

Hyde and Jekyll remained quiet and watched as Lanyon gave them a firm look, then downed the concoction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to end with hastie and hyde making out or something but ill put that in the next chapter lol :')
> 
> please leave me feedback on tumblr or in the comments section!!


	4. Dr. Anxious and Mr. Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Robert wake up together, and consider the previous evening's events. Hyde desperately wants to see his crush again.

Robert awoke that morning with a slight headache, feeling sore all over and wishing strongly to keep sleeping. He took a deep breath and went to roll out of his bed, but became alert immediately when he felt something in front of him.

He snapped his eyes open and was met with the body of Henry Jekyll, asleep in front of him and unaware of how naked he was.

Everything that happened next happened very quickly. Lanyon noticed his own nudity. He screamed. Jekyll woke up with a yelp of his own. Jekyll saw Lanyon and scrambled backwards. Jekyll fell right out of the bed and hit his head on the bedside table.

The only thing either man could hear was their own ragged breathing and loud, pounding heartbeats. Very slowly, Jekyll moved from his place on the floor, one hand over the forming bump on his head, and looked at Lanyon, almost sheepishly. The older man had his bed sheets clutched tightly around his body.

“I don’t remember what happened last night.” Henry almost whispered. Robert nodded.

“Neither do I.” Robert laughed a little. “But ah, I can make a firm hypothesis.”

Henry whimpered, face going red. He slumped back down onto the floor, lying there in despair.

“Damn you, Hyde.” He groaned. He heard his other half laugh despicably. He then began murmuring things to his alternate, whose responses Robert could not hear.

Robert frowned and got up out of the bed, quickly throwing on some pants, trousers, and a shirt. He then grabbed a change of clothing for his friend and placed it on the bed, eyes averted.

“Henry, get dressed.” He requested, sitting on the edge of the bed. Henry peeked over the edge across the bed to look at Robert’s back, then saw the clothing and quietly took it, dressing as well. He walked around and sat beside Robert, looking away. Robert looked at Henry.

They say quietly for a little bit, thoughts of fear and of confusion and of each other flooding their brains. Neither wanted to be the one to break the silence, but they both knew the silence was becoming suffocating.

Soon enough, Henry let out a soft sigh.

“I never expected this from my visit yesterday.” Henry spoke softly, evenly. “I’m filled with so much regret, and guilt.” He felt Robert’s gaze on him, and he turned his head away from his friend. “I only had a hunch that you were beginning to lose trust in me, beginning to place your faith in a different man…”

“Henry, that’s enough of that,” Robert soothed, reaching over and placing his hand on Henry’s forearm. “You had a right to feel that way. Hell, I once had feelings like that about Hyde, before you started feeling ill.” He hesitated. “Or, were you ill at all?”

Henry’s heart clenched. “I was not. I merely lost my handle on the transformations into Hyde and back, thus I had to have an excuse to leave a situation quickly if I felt one coming.”

Robert blinked at him, astonished. “That’s incredible, Henry.”

“I know. I am sorry for lying.”

“Oh, Henry…” Robert shook his head and gently shook Henry’s arm as well. “That isn’t what I meant. I refer to the fact that you have been doing this for so long. How long have you known Hyde? Over a year now?”

Henry turned his head and looked at Robert then, nodding slowly.

“By god, then, you have kept an impeccable secret, sir!” Robert put on a showy voice, getting a little meek smile from his friend. “I assure you, as one with the same ah, ‘condition’, your secret is safe with me.”

Henry suddenly looked ten years younger and he nodded slowly. “Thank you, Robert…” His voice sounded shaky now, as if he were trying to hold back tears. Robert’s heart beat just a little faster.

“You’re quite welcome, Henry.” He hummed, then sat up a little straighter. “Now, then! One hurdle crossed; what else is overdue for discussion?”

“How long has Hastie been here?” Henry asked without missing a beat.

At Robert’s alarmed expression, Henry stumbled over himself. “Ah—I mean—It was on my mind, I apologize! I didn’t mean for it to come out like that!” Robert shifted nervously.

“It’s… I should talk about it, you’re fine.” Robert took a shaky breath. “There’s a lot to cover.”

“You honestly don’t have to.” Henry tried to dismiss him, but was hushed by a firm look of determination from the other Doctor.

“You deserve to know.” Lanyon took a deep breath. “After I stopped keeping up with your weird chemistry… science… stuff, I found myself missing the odd things you would study, and the strange little potions you were able to create with your books and ingredients.”

Jekyll tilted his head, seeming to already understand where he was going with this. “And you never came back to me for it, so you…”

“I began to experiment on my own.” Lanyon nodded, confirming Jekyll’s suspicion. “It was foolish, really, I allowed my pride to control me and prevent me from just going to you and apologizing for putting down your work.” Lanyon shook his head. “I just went on my own way, studying whatever you’d happened to tell me. I even got my hands on a few old books and potion-brewing guides, myself.”

“Did Hastie get those for you?” Jekyll asked. Lanyon’s face was painted with anxiety and a tense smile.

“No, but I am getting to Hastie,” He said slowly, then took a moment to compose himself. “I suppose, somehow, my research lead to whatever conclusion you came to when Hyde was first introduced to your life. I ah, suppose I became as engulfed in my work as you ended up becoming, because before I knew it, I had ingested my own formula and grown too large for my clothing.”

Jekyll looked incredibly worried, and Lanyon couldn’t stand to look at him any longer. He directed his gaze ahead of himself, furrowing his brows.

“It wasn’t long after Hastie’s birth that I got him some clothing and reluctantly claimed him as an associate of mine, so that he may enter and exit my manor at his leisure. It was him who came up with the idea that you and Hyde had a similar relationship to us two, and he presented the theory to me that you were one in the same.”

Jekyll straightened his back in alarm, turning his body fully to face Lanyon. “When did he figure that out? How long have you two known?”

Lanyon put his hands up in front of his chest, turning to Jekyll and leaning away a little. “It has only been one week! Shortly after he told me that theory, he suggested attending your sponsor meeting. You would have been suspicious of my being there, so he went in my place.”

“My god, he figured us out…” Henry was still reeling over the initial discovery, and he reached out to grasp Robert’s shoulders. “Hastie wanted us to find out about each other, didn’t he?”

“I-I don’t know, Henry,” Robert babbled, freezing under his friend’s grasp. “He may have.”

“Hyde didn’t know.” Henry said quickly, feeling stress quickly wrap around him again. “He only told me you and Hastie might be one in the same when we were talking last night--” Henry gasped and shook Robert a little. “Are we going to talk about their evening of sin and debauchery?!”

“Henry, yes, but—please calm down!” Robert winced, reaching up and gently grabbing onto Henry’s hands. “From my understanding, last time you got into this state, you turned into Hyde.”

Henry paused and quietly shrunk back again, taking deeper breaths. He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Please, none of that.” Robert sounded remorseful. “This whole situation is incredibly stressful. I understand your anxiety. Share it, even.” He offered a smile. “We should take this information in for ourselves in small increments.”

Henry only nodded his head slowly. “Okay. I… Suppose I shall head home, then. Or perhaps to the society, I have work to do today.” He looked to the clock. “I have been gone for far too long.”

“Right, right.” Lanyon looked at Henry’s attire, his own clothing ill-fitting on the slightly slimmer man. “Did you want your own clothing back?”

“Ah!” Henry looked down at himself and allowed himself a small laugh. “I suppose that would be ideal, yes.” He looked around and spotted his own clothes tossed aside at the foot of the bed. He felt a little sick, seeing how crumpled they were.

As he grabbed up the garments and lay them out on the bed, smoothing them out with his hands, he felt as if he wouldn’t be able to wear these wrinkled articles of clothing even to a Crumpled Clothing Party.

“I cannot leave in this.” He mumbled to Robert, who curled his lip and nodded his head.

“Understandable. You may keep those clothes for now.”

Once Lanyon got him a sort of bag for his disheveled clothing and he’d gotten something small to eat (Lanyon wouldn’t let him leave without at least a biscuit in his stomach), Henry was out the door, cloak and hat in place. He only walked a minute before he heard a familiar voice.

‘Henry.’ Edward whispered.

Henry did not respond.

‘Henry.’ He repeated, a little louder.

The doctor looked around pensively, pretending not to hear the other man.

‘Henryyyy.’ Edward cooed as he gazed expectantly at Henry through every shop window they passed.

Henry finally sighed and caved. “Edwaaaard.” He whined in an equally immature voice, once assuring he wasn’t in immediate company of others on the street.

‘Can you give Lanyon a ring when we get to the manor?’ Edward pleaded. ‘Tell him Eddie misses Hastie?’

“I’m going to gag. No.” Henry hissed beneath his breath, going silent and tipping his hat with a fake smile to a pair of men walking opposite him on the sidewalk. Edward groaned loudly.

‘As soon as I gain control again, you know I’m going straight to Lanyon’s and forcing him to guzzle a glass of his concoction!’ Edward threatened, his gaze becoming more of a glare.

“If Dr. Lanyon isn’t already Hastie, I would rather you leave him alone.” He sighed, waving his hand dismissively in Hyde’s direction. “Besides, Hastie is most definitely a bad influence.”

‘On who, me? An already bad man?’ Hyde snickered. ‘How could Hastie possibly worsen me? You already claim me to be the worst man out there.’

“There is something to be said for that, considering.” Jekyll muttered. Hyde scowled.

‘Why is Goody Two Shoes Me so insufferable?’ Hyde asked in a woeful voice, and continued to babble away about this thing and that as Jekyll made his way home and changed clothing, handing his yesterday’s outfit and Lanyon’s to the housemaids to clean. He was then off to the Society for the day, to work on paperwork and manage the building.

It was a little past suppertime, for regular men, before Henry felt a twist in his gut and he gasped. Edward gasped too, then whooped in joy.

“Okay, Edward, this is how this will work,” Henry stood from his desk and placed a hand over his abdomen. “You will not bother Robert, you will do anything BUT hassle that man.”

‘What if I Hastie that man?’ Edward teased, as the pain worsened. Jekyll clutched the edge of the desk.

“You will not! I do not trust him, and neither should you!” His face twisted in pain as the transformation slowly morphed him.

‘I can do whatever I want, I’m the spirit of London at night!’ Hyde cackled, reveling in the agonized choke Jekyll gave in response just before he slipped into the driver’s seat once more.

OoOoO

“Ah, Mr. Hyde!” Hastie cried in glee as he entered the parlor and saw the smaller man waiting for him. “What a delight to see you again!”

Hyde brightened immediately at hearing Hastie’s voice. “I’m just glad it is you and not the Doctor!” He chimed, walking towards Hastie, who laughed.

“He is not all that bad, come now,” Hastie looked adoringly down at Hyde. “You and he could get along if you tried.”

“Don’t push it, buddy,” Hyde smirked. “I like you a lot, don’t you ruin it by talking about him.”

“Alright, then,” Hastie hummed and pulled Edward close, leaning in and kissing his lips chastely. Hyde responded quickly, wrapping his arms up around Hastie’s neck and closing his eyes in enjoyment of their moment.

They kissed for only a moment, however, for Hastie was soon to pull away. “Would you like to stay the evening once again?”

Edward cupped Hastie's strong jaw with his almost feminine hands. “I was thinking, perhaps, we could go out for a drink, perhaps have some good fun together while we’re here.” Hastie hummed softly, considering it as he held Edward close.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. Allow me to fetch my hat and coat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yea so i'll write what happened between hyde and hastie that night, if people really wanna read something like that?
> 
> as always feedback is appreciated and if u think i need it, go ahead an dish it out!


	5. Hyde and Hastie's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alternates spend a night on the town, wasting Henry and Robert's energy and money getting wasted.

“Typically, I begin my evenings with something to eat and drink,” Hyde rambled as they trotted along to their first destination of the night.

“I’ll assume that is due to Henry’s horrid habit of failing to eat a meal per day, let alone three?” Hastie jabbed. Hyde barked with laughter.

“I forget that you share a memory with Robert, of course you would know that about the dear Doctor.” Hyde mused as they approached an eatery and bar. “Yes, that is precisely why I eat first. If I’m honest, my first thought after you was of a three-course meal.” It was Hastie’s turn to release a peel of laughter.

“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s dine and drink!” He followed the small man into the eatery, content to listen to Hyde babble about his very loose evening plans.

‘This is not a sound place to be, Hastie.’ Robert near-whispered. Hastie’s pleasant smile dropped into a little pout.

“Begone. This is Hyde and I’s eve.” He uttered beneath his breath.

‘I don’t want to know this much about Mr. Hyde’s life. Can’t we back out? We can still make it home!’ Robert pleaded.

Hastie did not respond as he and Hyde seated themselves.

‘Hastie, I will put you on house arrest for a week if you do not go home.’

“God, Robert, please,” Hastie sounded tired. “Nothing illegal will happen tonight.” Robert made a soft noise of disbelief. “I swear. If something happens, you can put me on that house arrest.”

‘I am keeping you to that.’ Robert hissed. ‘The minute things turn south, I am not drinking a sip of my chemicals for at least one week.’

“Deal. Now let me enjoy my evening.” He muttered. Hyde glanced to him to ask what he would like to eat, and Hastie put back on his showstopper smile and carried on with his evening.

Their night was filled with all the sin and debauchery the pair could squeeze in, although they both knew this wouldn’t be their last eve out together. They drank, they ate, they got into a fair number of verbal (and physical) brawls with the people around them, and by the end of it both had enough alcohol in their systems not to feel their fingers or toes.

Hyde was still insistent that there was more to do. “We can head to Blackfog together! Or perhaps go on a paranormal hunt, I hear there is an old apartment building on Whitechapel--”

“Hyde, Hyde, keep it small,” Hastie chuckled. “I fear we will run out of things to do in London if we do it all tonight.” Hyde snorted.

“Nonsense, there’s ALWAYS something exciting happening in London!” He insisted. “Now, I know this city at night like I know my own face, so where do you want to go?”

“I was perhaps wondering if we can make our way back to the Society.” Hastie remarked, keeping his voice low. Hyde’s face fell.

“I don’t want to go there on our evening out!” He whined. “That place means work, who spends a date night at their workplace?”

“Oh please, Edward?” Hastie pleaded softly. “I have wanted to visit for a long while, anyway. You can give me a tour.” Hyde scoffed and turned away from Hastie.

“Or I can take you to Jekyll’s office and ruin it by making out with you inside it.” Hyde retorted, mostly under his breath. Somehow, Hastie still caught it, and gave a laugh in reaction.

“Ah yes, that is an option too, I suppose!” He kept his voice low now as they made their way through the streets of London amidst men and women, Hastie allowing Hyde to guide him along.

“You don’t suppose we could travel by rooftop, could we?” Hyde asked after a minute. Hastie rose a brow.

“My skills do not lie in leaping from roof to roof,” Hastie said. “I am more of a… Hmm, brute strength type of man.” He nodded a little. Hyde only whined, only hearing a no from the larger man.

“Fine, we walk then.” Hyde grumbled as he fell back a little so he could latch, clingy, to Hastie’s arm. He seemed not to mind, in fact pulling his arm a little closer and allowing Hyde to nuzzle his head against his bicep.

Their walk to the Society elicited them many stares from passers-by, although both were used to it, and they got along without many stops, except when their light conversation became too heated and they slowed to speak more passionately about this and that.

None of it mattered anyways by the time they got to the Society for Arcane Sciences; The instant the doors were shut and Hastie and Edward were alone in Dr. Jekyll’s office, the latter was pinned atop the desk, Hastie half on top of him as they kissed almost aggressively. Edward was quickly becoming excited, or at least more so than he had been getting in anticipation for this exact moment, and Hastie himself was finding arousal in their actions as well, making sure Edward knew by the grinding of their hips.

Unfortunately, as tragedy would have it, Hyde felt a spike of numb pain shoot him through the stomach. He gasped and pulled back from Hastie.

“Hast—ahh…” He moaned as the taller trailed kisses down his jaw and undid his cravat and his first few buttons, kissing right down his neck.

“Hush now, Edward…” Hastie cooed. “This is my moment…” The pain got worse and he squirmed beneath Hastie.

“He’s coming, Hastie…!” Hyde gasped and bit his lip, closing his eyes.

“Mmm, already so close?” Hastie asked distractedly and confusedly, as he chose a spot low on Edward’s neck to bite and suck. Hyde yelped.

“Not me, you horny fuck!” Hyde yapped, reaching up and grabbing onto Hastie’s hair to pull on it. He groaned as the dull roar of agony spread to the rest of his body and he felt himself slip out of focus.

Hastie only chuckled, in his drunken state, and continued to nip and tug at the spot on Hyde’s neck with his teeth.

It wasn’t before he heard a distinctly different yelp that he released the flesh and looked up into the mortified face of one Dr. Jekyll.

Hastie had a delayed reaction, but did ease up off Jekyll after a solid second or two of staring. The thinner man of the two scrambled off the desk and almost threw up as he braced himself against the piece of furniture, feeling completely upside down and full of intoxicating liquid and air. He panted as he looked up at a vaguely concerned Hastie.

“You two, you both hideously disgust me,” He managed to spit out without vomiting. “Get out of my office and go home, unless you’re about to turn into Robert.”

Hastie shook his head after thinking about it for a solid minute. “I still require a potion to change back and forth, most of the time.” He slurred just a little.

Jekyll opened his mouth to speak but gagged, feeling bile in his throat. At that point, he didn’t know if it was from the acidic alcohol in his stomach, or the lingering arousal Edward had left him to deal with.

Or maybe the fact that the arousal was caused by Hastie. He swallowed before he next spoke.

“Then get out of my office,” He repeated carefully, “And go home.”

“I do not know how to leave from here.” Hastie frowned. “I was too busy looking at Edward’s ass.” Jekyll gaped at him.

“Fu--Then just--get directions out from the nearest lodger! I don’t know!” He staggered around the desk to sit in his chair, rubbing his temples and resting his elbow on the desk. “Leave my sight at once.”

Hastie scowled a little, then threw on a very fake, yet very prize-winning smile. “Good day, Dr. Jekyll.” He turned and opened the door.

“Robert, ring me when you turn back.” He called just before the door shut, which caused the action to hesitate before the door was completely closed.

Henry groaned and then let his head fall onto the desk, back hunched in a position that would surely kill in the morning. He began working now on thinking of as many disgusting and unattractive things as he could to rid himself of the problem Edward had left him with.

OoOoO

Dr. Jekyll didn’t realize until he woke up from a restless head-desk slumber that he was still in Mr. Hyde’s tight clothing, and heaved a heavy breath as he stood to go to the wardrobe he kept in his office, to change and freshen up before his day could begin. He would have to find a way to ask Rachel for something for hangovers.

Abruptly, he heard a quick succession of knocks at his door. He quickly tied his cravat and tucked it in, closed the wardrobe doors, and rushed (in a very orderly fashion) towards the doors. He opened them and saw Mrs. Cantilupe, with her fist raised, positioned to knock a second time.

“Mrs. Cantilupe, is something the matter?” Dr. Jekyll remarked, noting the troubled look on her face.

“I need to come in to speak with you. It is about my partner in science.” She stated vaguely, and held her breath as the Doctor allowed her inside.

“Miss Lavender is missing.” Mrs. Cantilupe stated once she was properly seated in Henry’s office.

The man frowned as he sat himself down at his desk across from her. “Missing how? She went home fine last night, as I was aware.” The woman before him shook her head deliberately.

“She was, but she left the apartment to come here, only for a moment. Was unsure if she’d properly put away one of her kits.” Cantilupe smiled a little at her partner’s antics, but it was gone in a flash. “Ah, but, she never returned. I went to bed hoping perhaps she would be back in the morning, but I’ve searched high and low and cannot find her.”

Henry put on a face of concern. “Have the coppers been contacted yet?”

“No, I’m telling you first because perhaps you knew where she’d gone. Or maybe Mr. Hyde had seen her, was he here last night?” Jekyll bit his lip.

“Yes, he was here. I shall have to ask him if he saw her last night.” He muttered, then gave her a look of determination. “As soon as I’ve clarified with him, I will inform you of where Miss Lavender is.”

“And if she is truly missing?” Cantilupe rose her voice just a pinch.

Dr. Jekyll folded his hands together on the desk. “I will tell the coppers, and then update you on the situation.”

She seemed to accept that. “Thank you so much, Dr. Jekyll…”

“No, no need,” He smiled a bit. “It’s really my responsibility to take care of things like this, and to take care of all of you. It’s a promise that I will see her returned safely to her life as soon as I can make it happen.”

Mrs. Cantilupe’s small smile of gratefulness became a little wider at his show of genuine care. “I will speak with you later then, Doctor.”

“Yes. Rest easy, Mrs. Cantilupe.” He greeted as she stood and left the office.

Henry sat quietly once she was gone, before he turned to look at the apparition of Edward Hyde who had been at his side for the whole conversation.

“You didn’t see her last night, I take it?” He asked in a low tone.

“I was completely smashed, of course I didn’t bloody see her.” He grumbled, arms crossed. His own worry over what had happened seemed to be eating at him, however, his body language closed and his face wrinkled up in what appeared to be anger.

Henry stood with a small show of urgency.

“We must go to the police at once.”

Edward could only agree as he tried to mute the guilt crawling up his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another un-proofread chapter :') a lotta ppl seem to wanna see that chapter i promised featuring hastie & hyde having a sexy time together, so ill try to work on that and upload it as a oneshot in short time!
> 
> please leave feedback on tumblr or here on ao3 if u feel it's necessary or u see a classic 1am typo <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hyde tells the police about Miss Lavender, and then promptly uses his time as himself to visit his lover.

“We go to the police, then we inform Mrs. Cantilupe of what’s happened,” Henry murmured his schedule to Edward as he went about putting on his cape and hat, neatening himself up nicely in the mirror.

‘There isn’t a we, why do you keep saying we?’ Hyde snapped. ‘You’re going alone! Leave me out of this!’

“Mr. Hyde, I believe something as serious of this should not be handled by myself alone,” Jekyll scolded fairly. “You and I are both shouldering this. Oh, and Dr. Lanyon. I shall inform him after Mrs. Cantilupe knows I’ve been to the police. Or, perhaps I shall speak with him first, as I’ll be out already…”

‘For Christ’s sake!’ Hyde groaned, sounding the way that melting ice cream looks. ‘Just go, get your police report out of the way!’

A gurgle of pain bubbled up from Jekyll’s stomach all the way up his throat.

‘Fuck.’

Henry yelped, putting a hand over his abdomen. “It is fine! Perhaps it will pass, maybe we aren’t…”

The pain worsened and Jekyll doubled over, choking back the end of his sentence. He took deep breaths as the transformation coursed through him.

“Damn it--damn it all to Hell…” Hyde grumbled. He then uncurled himself from Jekyll’s agonized position and looked blankly into the mirror at the other man.

‘Don’t look at me.’ Jekyll scowled, crossing his arms. ‘I have no part in when these things happen.’

“I’m angry at you regardless.” Hyde spat as he began disrobing, tossing Jekyll’s clothes to the floor with a lack of grace as he walked, or more like stomped, over to the small dresser to change.

‘I’ll be angry at you in turn if you do not bloody clean up after yourself!’ Henry cried, appearing over his own vest and dress shirt laying crumpled and sad on the carpet beside his desk.

Edward scoffed and only continued to dress himself properly, taking his sweet time. Henry made a very undignified noise of pure disgruntlement, dragging his fingertips down his face. Edward rolled his eyes, looking at the apparition.

“Would you have anyone see you like that, Dr. Jekyll?” He sneered. Henry only frowned seriously at him.

‘Nobody CAN see me, except for you.’ Henry remarked. ‘Which is the only excuse I have to losing composure like this. Which, by the way, only you can make me do.’ Edward grinned.

“You flatter me, dear Doctor,” Edward practically cooed, fanning himself with his hand. Henry pursed his lips.

‘Police station.’ He stated flatly, vanishing from Edward’s sight. The reminder had Edward’s face fall quicker than a Winter’s night.

“I hate doing your job. I want this to be over.” The man allowed himself to look sullen for a few moments more, before he shook his head of his guilt and left the Society.

‘Remember to tell them all of the details.’ Jekyll said softly.

“I will.” Hyde muttered as he walked down the street like a regular person.

‘I mean every detail. Including what happened when you got back to the office.’

“You want me to tell the coppers I almost had sex in your office?” Hyde snickered beneath his breath.

‘No! Or, yes, I suppose—At least, do not say it like that!’ Jekyll babbled a bit, causing Hyde to laugh and citizens around him to direct their gazes towards him. He seemed not to care nor mind the attention.

Once his laughter died, he was left with a pleased little smile. “I’ll tell it exactly as it happened.”

‘Hyde please do not or I will ruin your entire reputation.’ Jekyll threatened.

“What reputation?” He chuckled quietly.

The pair bickered as they went along, until Edward approached the station, and his expression became business-like and serious. Jekyll went quiet after one last small reminder to tell the police absolutely everything he knew.

Hyde walked right into the building and stopped the first copper he saw, who looked down at him in an odd suspicion that Hyde found he rather did not like.

“I am here on behalf of Dr. Henry Jekyll.” He stated cleanly. “One of the members of his company has gone missing and we’d like to file a report.”

The copper’s face switched out from skeptical to concerned as soon as Hyde dropped Jekyll’s name. He still retained a bit of confusion, however. “Is the Doctor not with you?”

“No, unfortunately. He has been feeling ill as of late.” He easily faked a solemn tone. The copper hummed.

“Bless him.” He swiftly took a pad of paper and a pen from his cloak pocket. “You say there is a person missing from his Society?”

“One of his lodgers, yes.” Hyde confirmed.

The police man gestured for Hyde to follow as he headed down a hall towards a more private room, to discuss details on Miss Lavender’s disappearance.

Hyde quickly found he rather disliked the interrogation-like environment. It felt all too much like a job interview, and he wished direly to escape that feeling as soon as he could. Whenever he would try to shorten his answers, he would upset Jekyll, who immediately began badgering him to give a more complete response to the officer before him.

To be perfectly clear, Hyde hated it all.

“I believe we have enough information to begin a case.” He scanned over the information he’d scribbled on his pad of paper. “Do you believe Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon would consent to a dispatch of officers visiting your Society to investigate?”

“Yes, and would you prefer to have either of the Doctors present for that investigation?” Hyde asked.

“Preferably, however if Dr. Jekyll is ill and Dr. Lanyon is busy as well, do not bother. We will manage.” The officer gave a nod, and Hyde stood, prepared to leave.

“If that is all settled,” he clapped his hands together. “I have more to do. If you’ll excuse me.”

The cop frowned up at Hyde before standing as well, reviewing the notepad once more. “Certainly. Thank you for reporting this, Mr. Hyde. We will see you shortly, I’m sure.” He reached to shake the man’s hand.

Hyde hid a grimace as he grasped the copper’s hand and give it a firm shake, then leaving after giving a parting greeting of his own.

“With that taken care of, it’s time to go visit Hastie.” He murmured.

‘You mean to say Robert.’ Jekyll said.

“Did I say Robert? No?” Hyde growled. “Then I guess I did not mean Robert.”

‘He needs to know first!’ Jekyll sounded exasperated. ‘Your work as myself is not yet done! Tell Robert of what has happened and send him to the Society, and while you are at it you must inform Mrs. Cantilupe of what’s happened!’

“Jekyll, shut UP.” Edward suddenly snapped loudly, turning to face the store window that Jekyll had been following him through. The reflection flinched and scowled.

‘Hyde, you are in public, don’t you dare throw a fit here.’ He hissed, wagging his finger at the shorter man.

Edward slowly looked around at the people giving him peculiar stares, and he made a face as he continued down the road, brooding so hard he had generated an aura of discomfort around him.

‘Tell Robert. Then, tell Mrs. Cantilupe. THEN you may be with Hastie.’ He spat with some level of toxicity.

Edward stormed down the road without response, making his way swiftly to Dr. Lanyon’s home.

Upon arriving and being welcomed with a bit of hesitance into Robert’s parlor, Edward began to feel excited for what was to come.

‘Control yourself.’ Henry groaned. ‘Absolutely wretched.’

“I am sexually tense.” Edward mumbled back, crossing one leg over the other to conceal his growing situation. “You’ve been cutting out my sexual adventures for days now, Henry dear.”

‘Why do you have to word it like that?’ Henry squeaked. ‘I am not a form of birth control!’

“Now that you’ve made that comparison, I am going to use it from now on.” Edward grinned, and snickered.

“Excuse me? Mr. Hyde?” Came Robert’s voice from the parlor’s entranceway. Edward tensed up and his excitement immediately died.

“Dr. Lanyon.” He sighed and slumped in his chair a bit, turning to look around the back of it at Robert as the taller man approached to sit across from him.

“What brings you here?” He asked as he took his seat, relaxing in the somewhat familiar company.

“Why else would I come here, except because Dr. Jekyll had intended to visit, but could not, due to unforeseen circumstances?” He sassed with ease, looking away. Robert’s nose wrinkled.

“I did figure as much, but I also figured it was polite to ask rather than to assume.” He grumbled a bit, pursing his lips.

Edward made a face. “I’m here primarily to inform you of a missing lodger, from the Society. Miss Lavender, Mrs. Cantilupe’s partner.” Robert blinked blankly before an expression of panic and worry overtook him.

“Miss Lavender has gone missing? Since when?” He asked, leaning forward in his seat. Edward almost gagged at the bubbly feeling that rose up in his belly at the sight.

“Only since last night.” Edward stated with a small sigh. “I’ve given all of the information Jekyll and I know to the peelers. They will be dispatched later in the day to visit the Society and gather evidence, or what ever it is they do.”

Robert furrowed his brows. “I do believe I’ll be headed there this afternoon, then.” He took a small agenda notebook from his pocket and began writing the information down. Edward cleared his throat.

“Excuse me, but if you wouldn’t mind,” He rose his voice just a little bit. “But I would like my time with Hastie now, please.” Robert rose his eyes to look at Edward.

“Ah?” He blubbered for a moment. “Ah—No, Mr. Hyde, that is not really… Appropriate right now, don’t you think?” He felt as if he were speaking to a child.

“I came all this way though!” Edward sighed. “At least give us a chance to shag quickly!”

“Mr. Edward Hyde, that is enough out of you.” Robert’s patience wore thin quickly, and he rose a hand to his head, rubbing his temples as a migraine formed behind them. “You and Hastie’s love life are not as important, not nearly, as a missing lodger.”

Edward shrunk in his seat as he was scolded, crossing his arms. “Robert, with all due respect, we are people too, and--”

“Whatever you are about to say, my previous statement still stands and you cannot have Hastie right now.”

“Lemme finish, damn it!” He dropped his accent for a moment in favour of his original Scottish one, so that he could focus on ranting. “Seeing as Jekyll and I can’t control our transformations anymore, and probably won’t be able to for at LEAST one more month, don’t you think it is fair to allow me whatever time I am forced to spend here, with Hastie? We are people too, and at the rate of which we are developing, we may as well be individuals, apart from you two flapdoodles!”

“I beg your pardon?!” Robert cried as he stood, glaring with high intensity at the small man across from him.

“You heard me!” Edward barked, standing as well. “And hear me when I say, I want Hastie to come out right now and snog me!”

“He will not, and you are no longer welcome here!” Robert rose his voice as well, as he called for his servants.

“Hastie, get your ass out here and kiss me, fool!” Edward continued to yell, stamping his foot like a petulant child.

A slow-burning pain began in Robert’s belly.

“Stop saying his name, it won’t make him come out! That isn’t how it works, Hyde!”

The pain swelled up Robert’s throat and he felt like vomiting.

“Hastie! Hastie! Haaaastiiiiie!”

Robert grit his teeth and began to tremble, body tense.

“Shut up! I said you are NOT ALLOWED!”

OoOoO

The first thing any of the servants saw, when they gathered in the doorway to answer Dr. Lanyon’s cries, was their Master’s frequent guest Mr. Hastie, Mr. Hyde pinned to the floor beneath them. Their mouths were pressed hard against each other and the rest of the world did not exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didnt know if i wanted the chapter to end like this, or some other way. but every 'some other way' i thought of wasnt as dramatic! so making out furiously on the floor it is haha
> 
> as always, leave me ur criticisms & comments either here or on my tumblr of the same username! <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry eventually discovers that Hastie and Hyde are not as similar as they first seemed to be.

Mr. Hyde’s time as himself ended up being much longer than anybody had anticipated, and so neither Dr. Lanyon nor Dr. Jekyll made an appearance at the Society to greet the police officers on their investigation.

Instead, rather to the pair’s disappointment, Hyde and Hastie decided to have their own night, once again.

They spent the remainder of their day going about their business, occasionally wrapping up appointments that either Jekyll or Lanyon were missing due to their abrupt illnesses, and getting on with this sort of all-day date they had going on.

By the time night fell, neither man had turned back yet, and hoped that their respective transformations would last till they passed out drunk in the night.

“I think it would be lovely to close our evening with a visit to a special place of mine.” Hastie mused as the pair walked down the road, arms scandalously locked at the elbows.

“Aww, we aren’t at the end of our night already, are we?” Hyde pouted up at the much taller man, pressing himself into Hastie’s side as they walked. Hastie stumbled a bit as a result, and laughed jovially.

“Did I say that?” Hastie shook his head. “I don’t believe I did. I only wish to milk my time with you for what it is worth, and perhaps leave Dr. Lanyon somewhere he’d enjoy as well.” Hyde looked up at the building the pair were nearing to, and snorted.

“Lanyon likes strip clubs?” Hyde snickered. “Actually, not too outrageous of a place to leave him. I’d leave Jekyll here too. Hell, he’d probably thank me.”

‘I would not. Do not do that to me.’ Jekyll hissed.

Hyde’s lip twitched.

“Ah, would he?” Hastie smiled down at his little love, before allowing Hyde to enter the brothel before him. “Enough about him. Did you know this was the first place I came when Dr. Lanyon let me out?”

“Oh wow, what a coincidence.” Hyde grinned. “It was one of my first locations too!” The pair walked further into the establishment, up to the bar.

“That makes sense,” Hastie reasoned, as he took his seat. “This location is at a perfect walking distance between your home and my own.”

Hyde agreed with a hum and a nod as he sat at the bar, in a seat closer to the stage. “It’d make sense for the alter ego of any man to find themselves here.” At this, Hastie laughed heartily once more. Hyde felt affection bubble up in his chest, and he rested his left hand over his heart.

The small man immediately directed his eyes to a beautiful woman walking by the pair. “I haven’t been here in ages!” He whistled and looked at Hastie.

“Oh, I still frequent this place. It holds a special place in my heart.” Hastie said quietly, or well, as quietly as he could in the noisy building where Hyde could still hear him.

“Certainly is a place to get a good eyeful.” Hyde returned, leaning towards Hastie and snaking a hand around his waist. “And a handful.” He purred, grabbing a good grab at Hastie’s hindquarters.

Hastie yelped a bit and then giggled. “Yes, yes! Not here, goodness me!” He waved his hand in front of his face, looking flustered by the action. Hyde’s chest now swelled with pride that he was able to bring that reaction out of the larger man.

He was about to retort with another handful of ass, before the lights abruptly dimmed. Hastie’s eyes widened.

“Oh, the show is about to start!” He exclaimed. Hyde’s eyes widened too, and he withdrew his arm from around Hastie, turning in his seat to face the stage.

“I didn’t know there was a show here tonight!” He gasped, seeing people begin to shout and cheer already.

“I ah, forgot too, until just recently!” Hastie replied quickly, before the act began.

OoOoO

Hyde felt the effects of all the alcohol he was drinking, and he didn’t like them. Certainly, they felt fine in the beginning of the night, but towards the middle, there was always a slight dip, which he needed to fill with either violence or sex. In the best-case scenario, both.

As soon as the house lights came back up, Hyde turned in his seat to look at Hastie.

Not a word escaped him before he realized, with slight alarm, that the seat behind him was occupied by some other man.

Edward turned back around quickly.

“Hastie is gone.” He whispered to nobody in particular.

‘I gathered.’ Nobody in particular responded. Edward groaned and slouched a bit, looking up at the ceiling.

“Prolly in the loo.” Edward slurred a bit, blinking as his focus shifted from different lights on the ceiling.

‘Perhaps it would benefit us to go search for him, just in case.’ Henry suggested.

“You know,” Edward grunted, sitting up properly. “Jus’ because you said that, I’m staying here.” He looked around the room, blinking his eyelids quickly to rid them of the blindness he’d just induced upon his sight.

‘Hyde…’ Henry spoke, almost threateningly. Edward’s sight returned slowly and his first order of business was to grab the waist of a woman walking by, and pull her close to him. ‘Hyde.’ Jekyll spoke a little louder.

“Fancy a shag?” Edward purred to the woman. She blinked at him.

“I—ah—You are drunk.” She stammered. He smirked widely.

“You are sexy.” He countered. Her face blossomed into a beautiful blush. “Fancy a shag?” He asked again.

She answered with actions, leaning in and giving him a lovely smooch on the lips.

‘Hyyyyyde.’ Henry groaned loudly, disgusted. Edward matched with a groan of his own, grabbing the woman’s hair and holding her against his body as he stood, turning to push her up against the bar.

‘Okay—Mr. Hastie could be off doing this exact thing with another woman!’ Henry cried. Edward faltered and pulled away from the girl he was currently snogging, staring at her for a moment.

She stared back oblivious to his inner dialogue, and tilted her head back, eyes slipping closed as she invited him to her neck.

‘Do not even dare.’ Henry growled.

It took him a solid five seconds to finally grab the girl’s chin and pull it back down.

“Perhaps another night.” He mumbled to her, and gave her another quick smooch before leaving her winded against the bar. He grabbed up his hat and cloak from the bar and moved through the brothel towards the lavatory. “Damn you, Jekyll.”

‘Damn you too, Hyde.’ Jekyll mumbled right back.

However well they looked, though, neither Jekyll nor Hyde could spot Mr. Hastie, not in the crowd of men and women, or in the lavatory like Hyde may have thought.

Instead of panicking like Jekyll was beginning to do, Hyde made a contemplative noise and left the establishment after asking a few staff members if they had seen the man. He rushed along down the road, around the entire outside and a little ways down each street, before he decided to hop up onto the rooftop and travel back in the same direction the couple had come.

“I’m going to beat his ass when I see him.” Hyde growled under his breath as he traveled.

‘Err, perhaps do not?’ Jekyll suggested, his panic causing him to fill the silence. ‘Perhaps, instead, consider it best to leave him be, and just remain friends.’

“We’ve had sex. We aren’t just friends.” Hyde grumbled.

‘You can remain friends even after you’ve had sex!’ Jekyll proclaimed. ‘I mean, look at Robert and I!’ Hyde immediately gagged.

“I’d rather not.” He spat, eyes following the sidewalk down below as he leapt from roof to roof.

Jekyll then sputtered and stammered. ‘That is not—I meant about us being close friends! Not the, the other thing!’ He yelped.

“We were one man when that happened, Jekyll,” Hyde reminded. “I remember it happening as well as you did.”

‘Don’t take control from me again!’ Jekyll suddenly rose his voice, not allowing Hyde a retort before he continued. ‘I am in control of this conversation, damn it!’ Hyde stumbled to the edge of a rooftop, nearly losing concentration and plummeting. The cuss caught him off guard, but also enraged him further.

“It’s still my night, so just fuck off.” Hyde snapped, glaring intensely down at his shadow cast in the pale moonlight. His shadow guffawed as it followed after him across another rooftop of London.

‘Edward, if you want control so badly, perhaps I shall begin work on a new serum!’ Jekyll began to rant. ‘A serum that will lock me as Edward Hyde, perhaps erase my consciousness and leave only you remaining! Wouldn’t you love that, Mr. Hyde? To take over every responsibility I have, and to become practically perfect just to survive, even though you hate existing like that?’

“I said fuck off!” Edward cried in anger, fists clenched as he sped up across the roofs.

Jekyll, however, appeared not to hear him at all. ‘You are an unsuccessful, alcoholic, sex-addicted hornswoggler! There is no chance, NO chance at all, that you will survive without me! Without BECOMING me! You want control so badly, Hyde?! Then just take it, rip it from my cold, dead hands!’

“Shut the FUCK UP!!!” Hyde screamed, leaping down from a building into a thankfully rather empty street. He rounded on the window of the building he’d landed in front of, snarling at Dr. Jekyll in the reflection.

“You may literally be me, but you will never know what it is to BE me! You have no idea how hard it is dealing with all your shitty emotions all the time! Your stupid repressed feelings and your depression; your episodes are a NIGHTMARE! I hate being part of you, I hate having to be you, and I especially hate YOU, Dr. Henry Jekyll!!”

The man’s angry voice echoed through the empty street as he stared at his reflection, who was beginning to look like he had the globe on his shoulders.

Perhaps minutes passed, or only seconds, but soon enough something drew Hyde’s attention from the glass’ reflection. Something came in the form of an unattractive retching noise, and an agonized moan to follow.

Without a word, Hyde walked with an air of confidence and investigation towards the alley of which the sounds were coming. He walked right inside and the smell hit him like a ton of bricks.

He gagged a bit and put a hand over his mouth and nose, taking breaths carefully as he approached the hunched over form of a man leaning against the wall. Edward’s expression turned around immediately from complete disgust to absolute mortification.

“Lanyon.” He stated.

The man jolted and rose his head, turning halfway to look over his shoulder up at Hyde pitifully. A sickly pale face greeted him, Robert Lanyon’s face, and he was breathing heavily and crying. His face was a mess, and the rest of him beneath that cloak probably was too.

“How did—” His body lurched and he made an indescribable face. He took a deep breath and started over. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me but I want an explanation, now.” Robert spoke softly.

Hyde babbled for a second. “What I’ve done??” He clarified. His own stomach churned with a dull roar of pain. Hyde placed a hand over his abdomen in a weak attempt to soothe the agony. “What do you mean by ‘what I’ve done to you’?”

Robert shook his head and turned a little more. “You are tricky, Hyde.” He rasped, as his ragged clothing beneath his cloak was revealed. “Tricky indeed…” The clothes were a little big on him, and Hyde felt a pang of sympathy. Or perhaps that was just his upset tummy. “How did you get me here? Where… Where is here??”

‘How did… Oh no. Hyde.’ Jekyll whispered, in fear. ‘Don’t tell me…’

Offended, and irked at hearing the Doctor’s voice once more, Hyde took a step back from the man who reeked of vomit and alcohol. “I have no idea what you—wh-what you’re—” Hyde gasped and doubled over himself, hissing as his body changed.

Henry rose his head as his breathing evened out, and he paled himself at the sight of his friend. “Robert!” He cried and staggered to his feet, bracing against the wall as he walked over and kneeled down beside him, despite the stench.

Robert curled away from Henry. “God—get away!” He shrieked weakly, before suddenly crumbling to the floor and dry-heaving.

Henry wilted. “Robert…” He moved back, obeying Robert’s request as he watched the poor man. He waited patiently and with pity for Robert to quiet down. “Where do you last remember being?” He asked patiently, in a soft voice that completely betrayed how full of worry and anxiety he was.

Robert ate more time thinking about the question, trying to even out his breathing as he blinked his bloodshot eyes in exhaustion. “Parlor, my parlor…” He wheezed, focusing for a short time on Henry’s face before his sight fell back to the cobblestone beneath them.

“Good lord.” Henry whispered, then shook his head in disbelief. “You turned into Hastie. Do you not remember that?” He asked, watching Robert’s body language closely.

“I was… Not Hastie…” Lanyon sighed a little. “At least, that isn’t what I remember…” His shaking hands tugged at his loose-fitting waistcoat. “Everything else tells a different story, however…” Lanyon’s eyelids closed and didn’t open for several moments.

“… Robert.” Henry mumbled. His friend’s eyes opened quickly and then went back to their slow, nearly unconscious blinking. Robert clearly was not adjusted to such an irregular sleep schedule.

“I don’t recall much of anything, I just want to go home…” Robert murmured, once again focusing for a short time on Henry. The younger nodded and bravely offered his arm to the dirty man.

“I’ll take you there…” He comforted softly, as he watched Robert take his arm and help himself into a weak stand. “Just stick by me.” He mumbled as he and Robert walked up the street, where only earlier that night, Hastie and Hyde had just been.

OoOoO

“Hastie can block Robert’s consciousness.”

“…”

“Robert didn’t recall a single thing…”

“…”

“This is so worrying…”

“…”

“Hyde…”

“…”

“Hyde, tell me things.”

“… I wonder if I can do that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um yea;;; sorry this took ages, first i didnt know where to begin the chapter, then i got overworked very very quickly and got a little sick in the process, so i finally had a free evening today and decided to quickly write this up while i could! hopefully the next chapter doesnt take two bloody weeks to get out to you guys heh;;;;;;
> 
> as usual, please leave me ur feedback and suggestions! ilu!


	8. Dr. Damaged and Mr. Cope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll finally hears from Dr. Lanyon, and visits him at his home to discuss the events of their last meeting.

It had been a concerning number of days since Henry had last heard from Robert. After bringing him to his home and allowing his servants to take care of the drunk, sick man, Henry had gone back to his own home and allowed his own staff to help him recover from Hyde’s night. He knew his own staff was wise enough not to question Henry’s state when he came home some nights (and mornings), but he fretted over Robert and his servants.

Six days had gone by in silence, and Robert had not been in contact, despite the police and his own repeated attempts to get a hold of him. Even being as busy as he was, investigating Miss Lavender’s disappearance on top of meeting sponsors for the Society, he couldn’t go long without Dr. Lanyon crossing his mind.

This was why, on the seventh day after not hearing from Robert, he practically squealed at the sight of a letter from the other man.

Hyde cringed as he watched Jekyll tear open the letter desperately. “Lord almighty. Are you going to tear into his trousers just as desperately when you see him?”

Jekyll had no reaction to the crass comment as he ripped the letter out of the envelope.

“Yeesh.” Hyde sighed. It was incredibly rare that one of his sassy remarks elicited no reaction from his alter ego. He floated mystically up around Jekyll’s shoulder like a fur pelt to read the letter with him.

The letter bluntly requested that Jekyll come to Lanyon’s home to have a talk, immediately once he’d received the letter. There was no mention of what had happened one week prior, nor any mention of tea or wine or dinner of any sort. Jekyll frowned, excitement dampened and concern rising in his chest.

“Something is off.” He grumbled. Hyde groaned and drifted away from Jekyll.

“Maybe he’s still hungover.” He said moodily, looking away at the light-dampening curtains over their window.

“Impossible, Edward.” Henry shook his head. “And even if it were possible he was still feeling the effects of Hastie’s evening out, he would not have left out all of the formalities that he has.”

“Did it occur to you that Hastie could have gone out just last night?” Edward snapped. Henry turned and looked bluntly at the apparition.

“It did, but I feared pointing it out, seeing as that would mean he went out on his own, Mr. Hyde.” He said calmly, although a little snarky. Edward stammered a bit and crossed his arms, glaring hard at Henry as he vanished in wisps of green smoke.

Henry stared where his alter ego had been moments prior, and after another few seconds he placed Dr. Lanyon’s letter on his desk and went to his wardrobe to retrieve his cloak and hat.

“I am going to proceed with caution.” He murmured as he dressed for the walk over. “I’ll proceed as if Hastie is setting this up.”

Edward hissed in Henry’s ears. ‘He wouldn’t do this. It probably really is just Lanyon responding to your calls.’ He sighed. ‘You two are disgusting, you know.’

“You don’t know his motivation.” Henry walked to his full body mirror, speaking to his reflection. “It’s entirely possible that he’s invited me knowing that you will have no choice but to be there too.”

The reflection stopped following him to frown and cross its’ arms, looking away. Henry’s form melted away to become Edward’s. ‘I thought he got over me, stopped going out without me.’ Edward huffed. Henry wilted.

“For the love of God, did that offhand comment of mine really get under your skin that badly?” He asked, expressing concern. “I do not know if he’s actually doing that, Edward, I only said it because--”

‘Oh, do shut up, will you, Doctor?’ Edward snapped, not unlike a young Dr. Jekyll, frustrated by his peers’ failure to pronounce his name properly.

“Edward…” Henry shook his head. “Fine, how about this theory then; it actually is Dr. Lanyon and he’s only left out the formalities due to how stressed he has become.”

‘Ughhh, well in THAT case, why don’t you just admit your feelings to him this evening?’ Edward carried on, at this point quite fed up with his alternate self.

A moment of silence slipped by and Edward relocated his gaze to the man in front of him, a bit startled to see his eyes glossy and his lower lip held nervously between his teeth. His hands were wrung in front of his waistcoat.

Edward immediately felt a swell of sympathy. He reached out of the reflection to hold Henry’s face. ‘Look, I feel like Robert… Could really benefit… from a good shag.’ He attempted to comfort Henry.

The brunette snorted a bit and cracked a smile. “You don’t know that. You don’t know him.” His smile fell as quick as it’d appeared. “There is already far too much on his plate, evidently, and to add my ridiculous emotions to that pile…” He looked down, filling with anxiety. “That wouldn’t do anyone any good, Edward.”

Feeling a little sickened, but sticking to this decision to be helpful, Edward gave Henry’s face a gentle smack between his hands. ‘Jekyll, look, if anything, this would uplift Robert’s spirits after all this stress he’s been under.’ He grinned. ‘Think about it. If Hastie wants me, then obviously Robert would want you too.’

Henry stared at Edward. “Mr. Hyde, I don’t think that proves anything. And regardless, we are both men, with reputations to uphold that do not allow for us to do such reckless things as lay with each other as we did in college.” Henry turned from the mirror, away from Edward’s reach. “I have to leave.”

Hyde sighed a little, and disappeared from the mirror as Jekyll opened the door and exited the office, and then the Society.

OoOoO

Henry found it a little bit odd when he knocked on the door to Robert’s home, to zero response. After several moments waiting, he knocked a second time, only to see nobody was going to greet him.

Feeling a bit like Mr. Hyde, Henry allowed himself inside, glancing around and seeing no servants of any kind around the lobby to Robert’s home. He blinked a few times.

He merely closed the door behind him and charted a course for Robert’s parlor, stunned to see a lack of servants anywhere else in the manor on his way there. It felt like the building was abandoned.

This wasn’t for long, however, as he entered the parlor at last to see his dearest friend seated in a comfortable chair, head in his hands.

“Robert!” He spoke suddenly. The abruptness of the sound made Robert jump and yelp, then he rose his head and looked at Henry with bloodshot eyes, bags under his eyes, and lacking a cravat. He looked quite ruffled, as if he’d been in a fight. Henry could only gape at the sight.

“Ah, Henry…” Dr. Lanyon smiled at the sight of his companion, and gestured to the seat across from him.

Dr. Jekyll, however, did not move. “Robert, you look like a complete mess.” He stated simply, mouth twisted into a distinct frown. Robert frowned back.

“I, I tried my best to clean up.” He stammered, eyes darting from left to right before looking back up at Henry, who had begun to move to seat himself in the chair across from Robert.

“You still look like you have not slept since I last saw you.” He commented in despair.

“I must admit, I don’t remember when it was I last slept.” Robert mumbled. Henry went back to gaping.

“I beg your pardon, sir, but it is I whose health is that bad, not you.” He stated, partly in jest and partly to prove a point. “That said, how on earth did this happen to you?”

Robert scowled and gave Henry an angry look. “How do you think it happened?”

It was Henry’s expression of confusion and worry that allowed Robert to dial his anger back, and clear his throat. “Never mind, never mind that, let’s have a drink, shall we?” Robert mumbled, standing to grab some wine glasses and a bottle from the serving table in the parlor.

Henry watched him with growing suspicion. “Is that such a good idea? You seem quite ill.”

“Nonsense,” Robert slurred just a little as he walked back over, placing the bottle and two glasses on the table between their seats. “I think it is a splendid idea.”

“Robert, pause for a moment.” Henry sat on the edge of his seat and leaned forward to place his hand on Robert’s shoulder. “In my professional opinion, we can have a productive discussion without the aid of wine to loosen us up.”

Robert blinked, and then smiled as he rose his hand to place over Henry’s, leaning in a little himself. “I only want to have something to enjoy while we discuss something so heavy, dearest Henry.” The nickname caused unwelcome heat to rise in Henry’s face.

‘Lean in a little more, Jekyll.’

Henry retracted his hand and leaned back in his seat, ignoring his inner sex lunatic.

Said lunatic huffed in disappointment.

“Right… Well…” Henry cleared his throat as he watched his friend pour the wine. He accepted his glass with a small thank-you, and took a not-so-polite sip of it, then proceeded to cough and put the drink down.

He didn’t need this right now.

Looking at Robert, he could tell he wasn’t having any of it either.

“Henry,” He spoke after an awkward few moments of quiet. Henry sat up, alert. “Do you ever…” He sighed and ran a hand through his wavy locks. “Does Mr. Hyde block you out?”

Henry’s stomach dropped. In the back of his mind he really did wish he was having this conversation dead drunk. “He does not even have the ability to do so, Robert.” He said urgently, frowning.

Robert closed his eyes and rested his hand tangled in his hair. “The last thing I remember after, um, that night… was sending off that letter to you.”

‘So it WAS Robert. Theory 1, debunked.’

“Hyde…” Henry whispered, and shook his head, locking eyes with Robert once more. “You mean to tell me Hastie has been in control since I last saw you?”

“I am not sure…” Robert scratched his head and removed his hand from his hair, looking at it. “I think so.”

“Oh, Lord…” Henry’s gaze lowered to his lap, where his hands clasped each other tight and his knee bounced anxiously. “Can I conclude that you do not even need a potion to transform into Hastie now?”

“No.” Robert’s voice became shaky, and his hand jittered where he held it in front of his chest. “I grow more and more frightened with each day. He has almost supernatural powers, Henry, I…”

“Robert, don’t fear,” Henry soothed as he stood and walked around the small table to stand by Robert. “I am a chemist, and you clearly have dabbled enough to be considered one as well. Together, I’m certain we can configure a solution to end his reign over you.”

Robert looked up at Henry rather pathetically. “As much as I would love to do that, what time would I have? He’s barely given me a couple of hours to spend with you here…”

“We can find a way to do it.” Henry assured. Robert shook his head.

“I am just so stressed…” He complained, eyes fluttering shut.

‘Why don’t you offer to destress him?’

Jekyll’s lip twitched before he spoke again, softly. “You’ve done enough. I can begin the work, and even complete it if you cannot assist.”

‘That’s not what I fucking meant you dunce.’

“Oh, no, I cannot put that on you.” The older of the pair shook his head, sighing a little. He stood and wobbled a bit, allowing Henry to grab his forearms to help him keep his balance. “I’m certain I have not slept in days. Is this how you feel?”

His immediate instinct was to snort with ugly laughter, the kind of laughter that said ‘You’re bloody right’, but Henry only covered his mouth and cleared his throat. “You are becoming more and more like me every week, and it is honestly concerning to watch. Allow me to take you to bed.”

Robert’s gaze snapped to Henry with wide eyes. “Henry, are you…?” A beat passed before Henry’s face blossomed pink and he groaned.

“Don’t look at me like that!” He flailed. “You know that is not what I meant. Just. Come.”

“Henry, I won’t be doing that either.” Robert smiled, then laughed when Henry started to babble in defense of his word choice.

“Insufferable! God, Robert!” He huffed in embarrassment as he assisted his friend down the hallway towards his bed chambers.

“Ahh, Henry…” Robert’s childish giggling subsided and relaxed into a warm smile as he leaned onto Henry. “You are a great friend.”

The younger found himself smiling fondly as well, allowing Robert to lean. “I try to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please check the new tags ive added, as chapter 9 will deal with heavy subject matter, specifically themes of sexual violence and deceit. if that's not ur cup of tea, scroll to the end of chapter 9 to get a brief synopsis of what happened so that you are in the loop when chapter 10 comes out
> 
> that said, if you read the chapter and notice im handling the situation poorly or writing something completely wrong, please do let me know, now more than ever, that ive messed something up!


	9. Dr. Liar and Mr. Abuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Lanyon confesses to his best friend Dr. Jekyll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as i said at the end of chapter 8, this chapter deals with some heavy material (refer to the new tags), and if you are uncomfortable or simply unable to read that content without getting hurt by it, i encourage and welcome you to skip to the end notes to read a synopsis of what happened.
> 
> stay safe and read carefully <3

Once the pair made it to Lanyon’s room, the master of the house sat upon his bed, while his guest fetched him some nightwear from his wardrobe.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Robert insisted. “You may leave if you wish, I can have one of my servants do that.”

“I’m already here, so why don’t I?” Henry scoffed as he walked back over to the bed and placed his new clothes beside Robert before walking around to sit on the other side of the bed so his friend could dress.

“You’re even going to stay while I change?” Dr. Lanyon glanced over his shoulder at Dr. Jekyll.

“Oh, am I not allowed?” Jekyll looked over his own shoulder at Lanyon. “We didn’t seem to care in college.”

“Yes but, we are grown men now.” Lanyon pointed out. Jekyll snorted.

“Perhaps in society’s eye. We are all alone right now. What’s the harm in being college students again?” Jekyll mused as he turned back around, standing to walk to the window.

“I cannot argue with that. Carry on.” Lanyon chuckled, before Jekyll heard him shuffling around in his clothing, likely getting dressed. Jekyll moved the curtain to gaze out the window, quietly thinking about how easy it would be to just leap out from here if he were Hyde right then.

“You know, Henry,” Lanyon’s voice cut through his thoughts. “I feel like now is a good time to get something off my chest.”

‘Oh my god.’

Jekyll took a deep breath. “What is it?”

“It’s, well, it has been bothering me for a long time now,” he went on, fabric continuing to rustle. “And I just had a thought, that I should admit this to you now before things become too crazy and I miss my chance.”

‘Oh my GOD.’

“Yes…?” Jekyll’s voice became small, his eyes widening and his heart speeding up. He heard Robert stand and walk around the bed, closer to him.

“Goodness, how do I say this…” Robert’s voice lowered as well as he approached. “Perhaps for as long as I’ve known you, I think I’ve felt something special for you. It is something I have… Been hiding, as I felt it was inappropriate and that you would shun me as a friend.”

“On with it, Robert.” Jekyll squeaked, trying to sound demanding but only sounding desperate. When Robert’s voice came next, it was right into Henry’s left ear.

“I’m in love with you, Henry Jekyll.”

At least a full minute went by where neither man said or did anything, only processing the words that had just been spoken. Even Hyde was silent as Jekyll’s brain blasted through a hundred absurd thoughts a second. As the thoughts began to quiet, he took a deep, shuddering breath.

“You don’t mean that.” Henry whispered.

“Why would I lie?” Robert whispered back, lifting one hand to hook a finger under Henry’s chin and turn him to look at Robert’s face. Henry’s knees felt weak.

“Y-you are delirious, Robert.” Henry’s words came out fast. “You need sleep.”

“Come, now.” Robert pouted. “Humour me, Henry.”

The slimmer man’s lip quivered. “I-I…” He took yet another heaving breath to collect his thoughts. “I don’t know if this is right, Robert…” he placed his hands onto his friend’s chest, every action hesitant.

“It’s right in my eyes.” Robert mumbled, bringing his other arm around Henry’s waist and pulling his slender frame closer. “So…?”

With that, his heart hammering in his chest, Henry made a choice and leaned forward, closing his eyes and connecting their lips chastely.

Henry felt Robert’s hand at his chin move upwards to cup his face delicately, and he made a soft sound when the kiss was deepened. Robert’s hand on his back moved further down and rested on his behind.

He whimpered a little and pulled back, opening his eyes. “Too fast, wait, Robert…!” He gasped. “Please slow down!”

Robert hummed and smiled serenely. Henry shivered at the sight of it. “You seemed rather eager a moment ago. Let me help you.” One hand remained hooked around Henry, and the other from his face trailed down to tug on his cravat and remove the accessory.

‘Jekyll. This isn’t Robert.’

Henry groaned and decided to go further into it, to spite Edward.

“I want you to undress me.” He suddenly said. Robert blinked.

“Ahh, do you, now?” He laughed in a rather familiar way. “Well, if you’ll allow it.” Robert began unbuttoning Henry’s waistcoat and then his dress shirt, letting his hands roam beneath the fabric. Henry bit his lip and looked down, watching those hands.

‘Fuck’s sake, it’s not Robert!’

“Please touch me more,” Jekyll mewled a little, looking up into Robert’s eyes. “On the bed. Please.” Lanyon looked back and his smile widened.

“Certainly, you needy thing.” He guided Jekyll to the bed and pushed him gently down onto the bed. Jekyll exhaled and crawled further up onto the bed as Robert crawled up on top of him, looming over the younger.

‘I can’t believe you’re doing this!’ Hyde sighed in frustration. ‘Why would you spite me at the risk of your own goddamn safety?!’

“I’m not at risk.” Jekyll whispered, looking at Robert. “It’s Robert…”

“What’s that?” Robert looked down at the slightly smaller man, tilting his head. Jekyll flushed.

“Hyde doesn’t believe you capable of doing this with me.” He mumbled.

‘THAT IS NOT WHAT I SAID???’

Robert frowned. “Ridiculous. Of-course I’m capable of this, I love you.” He smiled once more, leaning in and giving Jekyll a chaste little kiss. “I have always loved you, Henry.”

Jekyll smiled and kissed him back, eyes slipping closed.

‘Fine, FINE.’ Hyde sounded genuinely angry and distressed by his alternate’s actions. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you, asshole.’

Jekyll moaned in exaggeration, feeling powerful. He felt above Hyde, and it briefly crossed his mind if this is how Hyde felt when he convinced Jekyll to let him go free for an evening, or won any kind of argument.

He loved it, he loved feeling so free, feeling so much like Edward Hyde without actually becoming him.

“Dear Doctor Jekyll…” Robert murmured against his lips, prompting the man to open his eyes. “Just how far do you want to go? You said we were too fast, earlier.”

“Ah…” He frowned in thought. “I ah, I would love to go as far as you want to go…”

Robert’s serene little smile stretched into a grin. “We’re going all the way tonight.” He whispered and leaned in to kiss Henry more deeply, licking and biting at his teeth.

That feeling of phantom familiarity returned and Henry mewled, allowing Robert to kiss him as he wrapped his arms up around his neck. The older man’s hands roamed his chest once more, one remaining at his breast and playing with his nipple, and the other hand roaming downwards to dip into Henry’s pants.

A spike of anxiety seized him and his eyes fluttered open as Robert’s lips moved down from Henry’s own lips, down his jaw, and to his neck, where he began to bite and suck a mark into the flesh.

“R-Robert…” He whimpered, his hands grabbing at the back of Robert’s pajama top. The man leaned up, licking his lips and gazing down at Henry with a lust he only recognized from one other place.

“Hastie…”

The man above him growled a bit, lip curling up. “I thought I was Robert. Hyde is wrong.”

“I-I… I’m not…” Henry’s breathing sped up and he moved both hands to Robert’s front, pressing against his chest.

“I assure you I am Robert, Henry.” The man’s voice lowered into a growl as he grasped Henry’s member a little too hard. Henry squeaked and his body went completely rigid.

A pit of pain landed in the bottom of his stomach.

“I want to stop.” He blurted out in alarm, eyes widening as he heard Edward begin a string of cusses and ‘I knew it’s.

“You said we are going all the way.” Robert growled, squeezing again. “All the way.”

Henry paled completely. “You’re Hastie. You’re Hastie!”

“I’m Robert!” The man hissed, scratching his nails down Henry’s chest.

Henry watched in horror as his best friend transformed above him, continuing to insist that he was Robert Lanyon. He cried out and shoved his hands against Hastie’s chest as he completely changed.

His stomach twisted as the pain worsened.

“Oh my god!” He yelled. “Somebody help me!” He started to scream, trying to push the now larger man off. Hastie had him pinned, however. He also seemed to realize that his act was over.

He frowned, as if genuinely upset. “Oh, Doctor, nobody will hear you.” Henry’s heart dropped into his stomach.

The lack of servants. The emptiness of this house.

He was completely at Hastie’s mercy.

The agonizing pain began to wash over his body.

It was now that Henry began to full-on scream, pounding his fists against Hastie’s chest and kicking his feet like a child throwing a tantrum. Hastie continued with ease despite the violent protests of the man he was violating, pulling down Henry’s trousers and pants, spreading his legs apart and holding Jekyll down by his neck as he pulled his own down.

His body numbed all over as he went through his own change, his body mutating beneath Hastie. The sudden transformation had Hastie pausing to observe as Henry Jekyll became Edward Hyde.

As Edward realized where he was and what he was doing, he looked up at Hastie in a bit of a daze. He didn’t fail to notice that his lover seemed thrilled to see him.

He wasted not a moment more with swinging his fist up into Hastie’s jaw, and then bringing his elbow down right into Hastie’s nose. Hastie cried out and reached up to grab his possibly broken nose, his guard completely down.

Hyde used all the strength his tiny body could muster and threw Hastie off him, then made a break for the window, opening it with ease and leaping out like he was born to do it. He stumbled against once he reached the ground, grunting in pain, before he sprinted away from the property as fast as his legs could carry him.

He heard Jekyll’s sobs the entire run to his apartment, and once he got inside the building and locked the door, he spent the next five minutes watching through the mail slot for their assaulter.

By then, Edward finally realized Jekyll’s tears were streaming down his own face, and he growled, rubbing at his wet face with the heels of his hands.

“Doctor, you’re away from him now.” He mumbled, stumbling away from the door and to his bedroom.

As he walked in, he noticed Henry had appeared on his own bed, curled up and crying. His current emotions of vulnerability showed in how disheveled his clothing and hair were.

“Henry.” He sighed, guilt tightening his chest. “You’re… I’m… Sorry, Henry.” He stammered out awkwardly.

Henry sniffled and looked at Edward with his bloodshot eyes, and his messy face. “I knew Hastie was trouble, I knew it, I knew it Hyde I just knew it!”

“I know okay? I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you!” He frowned and crossed his arms. “I know I fucked up.”

“It was never really Robert, was it?” Henry wept, putting his face in his hands. “It was just, just Hastie, that whole time…!”

Edward ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not seeing him ever again, Henry. Not after this.”

Henry shook his head and peeked at Edward through his fingers. “I-I have to see Robert again though, he’s, the co-founder, of the Society…” He hiccuped as he spoke.

“Henry, stop.” Edward hissed, walking close to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. “Don’t think about that right now. You need a break from everything right now.”

Henry sniffled and rubbed his face with his hands as he sat up from his curled-up fetal position in the middle of his alter ego’s bed. “Thi-this is, out of character, for you…” He gasped and sniffled between words. Edward gave a lopsided, completely in-character grin.

“It’s out of character for me not to associate with someone who raped me?” He scoffed. Henry flinched at the mention of what had happened to him.

“Y-you’d abandon your lover because of what he did to me…?”

“You are me. He did it to me too.” The blond quickly reasoned. “Okay?”

“I don’t…”

“Okay?” Edward repeated sternly, looking pointedly at Henry.

Henry bit his lip and looked away. “Okay.”

Edward’s grin became a softer smile and he stood, going to his wardrobe as Henry disappeared. He grabbed something comfortable to wear and bathed before he dressed and crawled into bed, as if he were taking care of Jekyll. At least, that is what he told himself. If he were to admit it, he felt just as damaged by the day’s events as Henry did.

For once, Edward felt he needed to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robert confessed his feelings for Henry, and once he got consent, they began to kiss and be intimate. Edward realized quickly that this was not right, and urged Henry to break off contact with his friend. It was soon revealed that Edward was correct, and that from the moment of his confession, Robert was actually Hastie, posing to gain Henry's trust, his motivations unknown. The panic of this realization caused Henry to transform into Edward, who swiftly escaped the scene and ran back to his own apartment, where he cleaned himself up and decided he would rest, for Henry's sake.
> 
> so this part of the story was supposed to be one chapter, but i quickly exceeded my typical 2000-word goal and the chapter ended up being about 4200 words long so i split it up into two parts
> 
> if you notice any errors in what ive written or you wanna give hastie the middle finger, please leave ur comments here or leave em in my inbox on tumblr <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon meet with Sergeant Brokenshire about their missing Lodger, and other things.

Dr. Jekyll entered the police station with caution, his eyes flicking back and forth in an uncharacteristic show of paranoia. He greeted the officer, glimmering as always, and was lead to a conference room down the hallway. The door was held open for him and he was equal parts relieved and devastated to see Dr. Lanyon had not arrived yet. Jekyll stepped into the room and thanked the officer as he walked to take his seat.

“He’s not here yet.” Jekyll mumbled to himself. “I’m even more anxious to see him now.”

‘I understand completely.’ Himself answered. ‘When he gets here, act natural.’

“That is a paradox.” Jekyll huffed quietly.

‘You get what I mean.’ Hyde replied with a bit of snark. ‘Things here are strictly business.’

“I only wish I could have sent you instead.” Jekyll said quietly, his eyes flicking up to look at the glass window in the door. Its’ reflection showed him Hyde’s image, looking down at him pitifully.

‘I wish I could have gone.’ He replied softly. Since the time he’d escaped Hastie’s clutches, Edward had found himself becoming more and more mellow in response to Henry’s trauma. The man had gone through many a ‘traumatic experience’, but never with someone he was so close with, and never, ever in such specific, horrendous circumstances.

Henry needed someone to take care of him now more than ever, and Edward saw it fit that he be that person for the time being.

“I know you would, Edward, and I thank you for that,” Henry smiled a bit. “As it stands, though--” His words caught in his throat when the door he was speaking with opened.

Dr. Lanyon was welcomed inside the room in the same manner as Dr. Jekyll was, and as soon as the officer was thanked and the door was shut, Lanyon shifted his focus to the other occupant of the conference room.

Dr. Lanyon looked like a bit of a mess. His chin was bruised and his pointy nose was swollen, it looked broken. There were bags under his eyes still, although they did look a little better than they had when Jekyll had seen him last. Perhaps the injuries allowed him some rest from the rest of his duties as an upstanding member of society.

“Good morning, Henry…” He spoke softly, a frown setting across his features. He went to take his seat beside the other doctor.

“Morning, Dr. Lanyon.” Henry murmured back, moving his gaze away and to his folded hands, resting neatly on the table. He heard Robert sigh.

“Lovely weather.” Robert commented.

“Quite, quite.” Henry responded plainly.

Several moments of silence passed, stiff and suffocating. Robert played with his fingers in front of his chest while Henry chewed his lip and listened to his alter babble about something irrelevant in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. The last thing they needed was a trigger for their transformation.

At last, Henry couldn’t take it and he turned to Robert, causing Edward’s sudden silence in his ears. “How is your nose?” he asked, and Robert jumped, turning to look at the other man.

“Uh--It is healing.” He stammered. “Slowly, but surely.”

“Please tell me you had that looked at by at least one other doctor.” Henry frowned.

“Well, you are looking at it right now.” Robert couldn’t help but banter. His chest tightened when he saw Henry hold back a smile. He went on. “Yes, I had somebody else look at it for me. The broken nose has been helpful in giving me some of my freedom back.”

This caused Henry to sit up more straight in his chair. “Freedom how?” He leaned in.

Robert leaned back a little, feeling uncomfortable with their proximity. “From… You know who.” He whispered. The mention of his attacker jolted Henry, and he leaned back again, taking a deep breath.

“Is he unable to come out when you are healing?” He asked quietly.

“It is more like whenever I am injured. He is rather frightened of--” Robert jumped with a squeak as the door swung open rather forcefully, and poor, exhausted Sergeant Brokenshire walked into the conference room, closing the door behind himself.

Dr. Jekyll turned up the sparkle to about a six for the weary man. “Good morrow, Sergeant!”

Brokenshire grumbled. “Yes, good morrow to you too.” He looked between the two, raising a brow at the rough condition Lanyon appeared to be in. Lanyon at least tried to carry himself in a professional enough manner that the rough condition of his face wasn’t too distracting.

“I am going to break honest with the two of you.” Brokenshire began immediately, seating himself in front of the men. “You have both heard about the men and women abruptly going missing in the past month, Lavender being the first in this chain of kidnappings.”

Jekyll immediately frowned. He had heard about that, but his own life had been keeping him on his toes as of late, so he hadn’t time enough to really focus on the tragic news.

“I’ve heard of such tragedies.” Robert confirmed his knowledge of the cases as well, his own features set in a serious frown to match Jekyll’s.

“I’ll also let you in on some information about these kidnapping cases,” Brokenshire cleared his throat. “They all seem connected, and we have deduced a suspect for these crimes.”

Jekyll tensed. “Now hold on, what has that got to do with us?”

The sergeant heaved a sigh. “I should clarify, we don’t have a specific suspect, but our detectives believe the suspect to be among men of your specific class.”

Jekyll placed his hands flat on the table and leaned forward. “You can’t mean you think we are both suspects?”

“Why would either of us ever attempt something like that?” Lanyon spoke up as well. “Surely there’s been a mistake. One of the victims is our own Lodger, for crying out loud!”

‘Look at how he’s acting.’ Hyde suddenly spoke, and Jekyll blinked, looking over to his fellow doctor. The man had his hands in his lap, wringing them out. His knee was bouncing anxiously.

I am acting just as suspicious, Jekyll wished he could say to his alter ego. He hoped Hyde would get the message from his pursed lips and furrowed brows as he looked back at Brokenshire.

“Dr. Lanyon, please,” Brokenshire grit out. “I will elaborate further for you. “We have reasons for our conclusions.” He pulled a folded note from his cloak, clearing his throat once more as he unfolded it and began to read off the list. “We figure this may be a publicity stunt, to allow people of your class a platform to speak for the poor and gain attention.” He glanced between Jekyll and Lanyon as he spoke. “This could also be a case of the rich thinking they can get free labour from people who don’t have much to live for.”

“That is rather rude…” Lanyon commented quietly.

“That’s just what is written,” Brokenshire snipped, glaring at Lanyon grumpily before focusing his gaze back on the page before him. “This is more specific to you two, but perhaps rich men of science think that the poor are free human test subjects.”

“We would never!” Lanyon cried, and Jekyll turned to scold the other doctor.

“Robert!” He exclaimed, about to go on, before he realized the other man’s hands in his lap had begun shaking. His eyes widened. Lanyon turned to look into Jekyll’s eyes, expecting him to go on, his own face painted with vague distress.

‘His damn hands, Henry…’ Hyde cursed.

Jekyll could only nod a little, and Lanyon’s expression shifted to confusion at the subtle action. Jekyll blinked, then looked back at the sergeant.

He only looked between the two.

“Are you finished?” He asked, with all the exhaustion of a kindergarten teacher.

“Yes, Sergeant.” They said in unison and faced the man again.

“Have you come to anyone else with this?” Jekyll asked civilly, shifting in his seat.

“No, you are the first.” Brokenshire looked down to the paper in front of him once again. “Our detectives believe one of you may be holding Lavender specifically, to gain sympathy from sponsors for your Society.”

“I can assure you we are not doing anything of that sort.” Jekyll protested, with a deepened frown. “What must we do to clear ourselves of suspicion?”

Brokenshire placed the list down and folded his fingers in front of himself. “A full investigation of your personal homes wouldn’t hurt, as well as interviews with each of you as well as select members of your Society, such as Mrs. Cantilupe and Mr. Hyde.”

‘Fuck.’

“Understood.” Jekyll stated. “I consent to a full investigation, as well as an interview.”

“As do I.” Lanyon answered hastily.

“Very well.” Brokenshire stood, prompting the other two men to stand as well. “Dr. Jekyll, seeing as you are the primary owner of the Society, your search and interrogation will happen first. Expect us at your doorstep tomorrow at noontime.”

“Of course. Thank you, Sergeant Brokenshire.” He glittered once more, with a showy smile.

“Any time.” The Sergeant responded sarcastically. “Get out of here, you.” He waved his hand.

The pair of doctors silently exited the conference room and left the police station soon after, standing once more in awkward silence outside the building.

“So, Henry…” Robert began, turning to the Society’s cofounder. Henry turned away as he did.

“Good day, Dr. Lanyon.” He said stiffly, keeping his gaze to the stone sidewalk beneath him as he began to walk away.

“Henry…” Robert sounded distressed as he began to follow the younger man. “Please, I’d like to speak with you.”

“Would you?” Jekyll almost sneered, glancing over his shoulder. “Because as it is, I would like to be as far from you as possible.” Robert shuddered to think he was actually looking at Mr. Hyde.

“Henry, just let me speak with you! It has been weeks!” He stepped closer and reached up to place a hand on Henry’s shoulder.

Quickly, Henry flinched and took a stumbling step backwards, fear spearing across his features. He took a deep breath and smoothed his hands down his vest, his panic leaving him as quickly as it arrived. Robert guiltily retracted his hand.

“Robert, I cannot do that right now. I am ill-prepared to see you again.” Henry’s gaze fell to the ground once more. “Allow me to write you once I feel safe again.”

Robert wilted immediately. “If it is Hastie you fear, and I’m certain it is, he won’t be coming around!” He insisted. “It’s the nose!”

“Then it’s pain he fears?” Henry responded bitterly, looking up into Robert’s eyes, his lip curling. “In that case, perhaps it will be Mr. Hyde who meets you next.” He said bitterly, and turned away from Robert with a flourish of his cloak. Henry left down the sidewalk once more.

The moment he stepped into his own home and passed off his cloak and hat to Poole (“No, I would not like any tea or baths this evening, thank you, Poole.”), he made a beeline for his study and locked the door.

He leaned against the door and groaned, running his hands down his face.

He had nothing to say, nor did Edward, as he stepped further into his office and began to pack up his notes to hide away.

‘… There’s no guarantee they won’t find this.’ Edward mentioned, which made Henry tense up.

“Don’t start. They won’t find it.” Henry mumbled, looking over the papers and journals full of entries from both men, about their unique condition. He placed them in the bottom drawer in the left part of his desk, placing them inside and locking the drawer shut.

‘They might ask to look in there.’ Edward insisted. ‘We should hide them better, like under your mattress or something.’

“I don’t have time for that, I have too many notes everywhere.” Henry said as he stood, grabbing up a couple vials and walking to a cabinet on the left wall. “I’ll just hide them in the rooms I found them in.”

‘That won’t be enough, Jekyll.’ Edward stated firmly. ‘Maybe we should just burn the notes, then there’s no way they’ll be found.’

“Absurd! I won’t do that.” Henry growled a bit. “Drop it, Hyde. This will be fine enough.” Henry closed the cabinet door.

Edward quickly appeared in the glass of the door once it was shut. ‘But it’s like having giant landmines everywhere!’ He cried. ‘Any officer could uncover a stray note and completely blow us up!’

“Edward, we are done talking about this.” Henry snapped, turning briskly and reaching for another beaker to put away.

He moved too quickly and knocked the beaker right off the desk, cringing when it shattered on the floor in front of his desk.

“Shit!” He cursed, his heart speeding up as he rushed forward to start cleaning the glass up himself.

‘Oh my go—Henry, for fuck’s sake! Get up!’ Edward screeched. ‘What do you even have servants for?! You’ll trigger a transformation with that heart rate of yours!’

Henry took several deep breaths before he stood up, holding his shaky hands close to his chest. He looked down at the broken beaker for a few moments before he looked at Edward in the cabinet glass.

Edward only nodded. ‘There’s a good boy. Now go get a servant to clean this up, and we’ll get working on hiding the rest of our damn notes.’

Henry nodded meekly, like a child in trouble, and skittered out of his study, Edward vanishing from the reflection.

‘Honestly, what would you do without me?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my rp of chapter 10 with maxwell was actually longer than this, but surprise surprise i dragged it out and now i'm gonna split it into two parts again :'D the second part isnt written yet but i'll hopefully have it written and up next week, if not earlier!
> 
> leave me ur theories as to what you all think is happening, i'd love to hear what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde discover something about their transformations, and Dr. Lanyon discovers something about Mr. Hastie.

Edward awoke blearily the following morning to several knocks at the door, and a soft call of Dr. Jekyll’s name from a servant.

He groaned and rolled over in bed, about to drift to sleep once more…

… Before he realized this was Henry’s morning routine.

He sat up in bed abruptly, eyes opening wide as he looked down at himself, then grabbed a fistful of his blond hair to examine.

“Son of a bitch.” He whispered.

“Dr. Jekyll, I have your breakfast.” A feminine voice called out, followed by another urgent set of knocks. Edward lowered his hand from his hair to grip the duvet.

“Uh, just leave it in front of the door!” He called, in a near perfect imitation of Henry’s voice and posh little accent. He heard a sigh.

“Very well, Dr. Jekyll.” There was the quiet sound of something set on the ground. “The coppers will be here in two hours.”

“Okay, you can go!” Edward almost barked, a bit aggravated.

“Good morning, Dr. Jekyll.” The voice sounded back just as aggravated, before footsteps sounded off down the hallway.

Several tense moments of quiet passed while Edward just scowled down at his own hands in his lap.

He kicked his covers up off his body, leaving the comfortable bed and trotting over to the door, only tripping a little over Henry’s nightwear. He quickly opened the door and crouched to pull the tray inside, shutting the door once more before lifting the tray of food and bringing it over to Henry’s bed.

He already had his hands all over the eggs when Henry cleared his throat. Edward looked over at him, mouth hanging open and egg halfway from the plate to its’ doom.

‘The police will be here in short time.’ Henry said, eyes narrow. Edward popped the egg into his mouth and chewed while he thought.

“We can practice changing at will this way.” Edward spoke around his food, grabbing a couple strips of bacon.

‘Please chew with your mouth closed.’ Henry urged, feeling much like he was speaking to a son he had never had. Edward just grunted and continued to eat. ‘We certainly can practice, although I wish it were at a more convenient time.’

“What better time,” Edward swallowed and wiped his mouth on his hand. “Than under pressure?” He decided to dig into the pudding next, dropping his utensil a couple times due to greasy fingers before he managed to get a spoonful of the stuff into his mouth.

‘We may as well use all the time we have, then.’ Henry appeared seated cross-legged in front of Edward on the bed, cringing. ‘Although I will need a bath immediately once I’m back.’

Edward just grunted and continued being as messy as he could possibly be.

They debated back and forth between methods of changing back by force, such as thinking hard about it, or Edward slapping himself back into being Henry. Neither worked, and only ended in headaches and red cheeks.

“Maybe if I sleep for a bit, I’ll wake up as you.” Edward suggested, pointing one greasy finger in the air. Henry groaned.

‘We don’t have that kind of time.’ He said, exasperated.

“What, have you any other bright ideas, Doctor?” Edward sneered.

Henry cleared his throat. ‘My last idea is rough, I don’t think you will like it.’

“Lay it on me.” Edward spread his arms out like he was readying for a bear hug, tossing his head back.

‘We have to stress you out so badly that you turn back into me.’ He presented, putting his hands together. Edward’s lip twitched and he swung his chin back down to stare at Henry.

“That actually makes sense.” Edward marveled. “Overstress is what causes us to change on a dime anyway, so let’s try it. But what material do you have against me to work with?”

Henry spent a moment thinking. ‘Mm… Well, for starters, I could merely poke at your insecurities until you can’t take it.’

“M’kay. Go for it then.” Edward assumed the same position as before, arms flung out and head back.

Henry took a deep breath. ‘You… Are… Going to… Die one day.’ He said weakly, looking meek.

Edward snorted. “Go on, dig deeper.” Henry’s frown deepened.

‘Okay, well then… I am going to die one day.’ He said next. Edward tilted his head.

“How’s that any deeper? We’re the same bloke.” He rolled his eyes. Henry went on.

‘If your consciousness takes over mine and I die, you’ll have to take over for me.’ He stated, leaning forward. ‘You are the only one who would be able to carry on my research and my work. You would have to work in companionship with Dr. Lanyon to fund and run the Society.’

Edward’s shoulders tensed and he clenched his fists. “... Getting warmer, Jekyll…”

Henry decided to go further. ‘In the event I somehow die before you do, you will literally have to become me, even though your sole design was to be anything BUT me.’ Henry moved closer on the bed. ‘You will be responsible for making up a legitimate reason for my demise, and hold my funeral. Fund it, too.’

“Okay, that’s… Okay…” Edward shook his head.

‘Just think about that, Hyde.’ Henry said quietly. ‘The esteemed Dr. Henry Jekyll dies of mysterious causes, and his close colleague Mr. Edward Hyde steps up to take his place in society. He has stopped his drinking and sex habits, and taken up working around the clock at the Society for Arcane Sciences, along with Dr. Robert Lanyon.’

Edward shuddered. “I don’t want to do that.”

‘But you might have to one day, if your personality remains the dominant one.’ Henry pointed out.

“It won’t. Neither of ours will. You won’t die without me, and I won’t without you.” Edward insisted, looking more haggard by the moment.

‘But we do not know that.’ Henry insisted, reaching forward to place his hands on Edward’s shoulders weightlessly. ‘What if, Edward? What if one of us dies before the other?’

“It won’t happen, Henry!” Edward suddenly barked, pushing himself away from the ghost of his alter ego. He pressed his back against the headboard of Henry’s bed. “We’ll die together! We must; I can’t take your place. That’s lunacy! That’s impossible! That’s--”

With a sudden gasp, Edward was seated on the bed cross-legged, an apparition, which quickly changed forms from Jekyll to Hyde to match his consciousness. Henry stared back at him with wide eyes as his own body transformed from Hyde to Jekyll.

Edward abruptly snorted and burst into ugly laughter. Henry couldn’t help but join in, covering his mouth rather politely with one hand. He then promptly squealed, holding his messy hands out away from himself. Edward only laughed harder as Henry scrambled out of his bed and ran to the bath.

OoOoO

The coppers were in the middle of halfway taking apart Dr. Jekyll’s parlor looking for whatever they defined as ‘clues’ to their missing people, when they were interrupted by a breathless officer abruptly joining them.

Brokenshire seemed to recognize the man and frowned. “Guest,” He greeted the officer, stepping over to him. “What brings you here in such a hustle?”

“Sergeant,” He wheezed, sweating a bit. “We’ve found Lavender.”

Everyone in the room went rigid, Jekyll more than anyone else.

“Where?” He blurted out, stepping over to stand beside Brokenshire. Please take me to her!”

The Sergeant allowed Jekyll to ride in his coach with him and the officer who delivered the news, and the pair of coppers spoke quietly, exchanging information about Miss Lavender’s sudden reappearance. Jekyll stared out the window, fiddling with his gloved fingers in his lap.

‘Everything is fine.’ Hyde murmured to his alter. ‘Brokenshire will not even remotely suspect you now. Once they get Lavender’s confession of who the kidnapper really was, this whole thing will be over.’

Jekyll only nodded subtly to signal he was listening, pouting his lip a bit in worry.

The moment they arrived at the scene and Dr. Jekyll stepped out of the carriage, his eyes were scanning for his missing Lodger. He paled when he saw her, sitting in the alley with a blanket around her and a few coppers crouched around her, all speaking at once. She looked frightened.

“Gentlemen!” Jekyll called, stepping forward quickly. “Please, allow a lady to have some space!”

Like the red sea, the officers parted to make way for the Doctor. Lavender looked ten years younger when she saw Jekyll, and her eyes became glossy with tears. Jekyll remained a fair distance away from her.

“Oh, god, Jekyll,” She hiccupped, attempting to stand up. He could see her shaking and offered his hand out to her, brows furrowed in concern.

“Can you stand?” He asked softly, and she nodded, taking a step towards him. He met her halfway and allowed her to cling to his arm. He could feel her trembling against him.

“Doctor, we need her at the police station for questioning.” Brokenshire’s voice cut through his concern, and he turned around slowly with Lavender to face the Sergeant. “Miss Lavender, please come with us. We’ll take care of you.”

She looked up at Jekyll. “I don’t remember anything.” She whispered. “I can’t take questions, for I have no answers.”

“Miss Lavender, it will be alright,” Jekyll soothed gently, offering her a sympathetic smile. “Just tell them as much as you do know. Perhaps their line of questioning will jog your memory.” Lavender’s head dipped down as she shook it with a whine.

“I hardly believe that…”

OoOoO

Only two days after Lavender’s discovery, on the day Dr. Lanyon’s home was scheduled for its’ investigation, Poole informed Jekyll that said Doctor had come to visit him, uninvited.

Henry sluggishly made his way to the lobby, his fists clenching tighter at the sight of Robert. His nose was recovering from its’ trauma, but he was back to losing sleep, and his clothing and hair seemed in too much disarray for the regular Robert Lanyon’s high standards.

The appearance of dishevelment reminded him much of Miss Lavender.

Henry swallowed his concern. “Dr. Lanyon, I swear I told you…”

“Now’s not the time, Henry,” Robert stepped closer to the younger man. “I have information I know will interest you.”

“Can we speak about it another time??” Henry asked anxiously, averting his eyes and taking a step back.

“I know who had Miss Lavender.” Robert plowed on, staring intensely at the other Doctor. Henry’s eyes widened as he rose his gaze to meet Robert’s.

“You…” He bit his lip. “Why have you not informed the police?” He shot a look to Poole, still standing in the hall entryway. The butler took the hint and turned, leaving the two men alone in the lobby.

“Because I can’t. I’ll go to jail with the kidnapper.” He spoke in a near whisper, moving even closer to the thin man before him.

Henry felt a heavy bag of anxiety fall upon his shoulders. “This is not funny, Robert. Please leave me be.”

“Wha—huh—funny?!” Robert babbled, expression twisting into one of disbelief. “Henry, I would not dream of joking about this! It is him, I’m certain of it!”

“What evidence do you have?” Henry asked, raising his voice a little as hysteria crept upon him and his stomach began churning.

“He… I don’t know.” Robert trailed off, shoulders sagging. “But Henry, I’ve seen bits and pieces of it. There are books in my home that I did not purchase, vials of unlabeled liquids too, and notes written in a hand that is not my own.”

“Perhaps—um, perhaps your wife is writing a novel!” Henry blurted the first excuse that came to mind, placing his left hand over his stomach.

“About human transformation, Henry?” Robert’s eyes were blown wide now, and he was raising his voice as well. “It can’t be anyone else. I’ve managed to hide it all, but the pain is beginning to wear off, Henry. He could come back at any moment, what will we do then?”

“Robert! I can’t take responsibility for your mistakes like this!” Henry cried, taking deep breaths. “I’m stressed enough keeping Hyde a secret, I can’t possibly—”

Henry choked up as he fell to his knees, breathing hard and trembling. He cried a little as his transformation overtook him. Robert quickly knelt beside him and placed a hand tenderly on his shoulder.

“Oh, Henry, I’m sorry…” Robert murmured, gently rubbing Henry’s shoulder blade as his hair grew out and lightened to a saturated blond. His thin body shrunk and changed right beneath Robert’s hand, and Edward looked up at Robert right as his eyes changed from brilliant red to striking green.

Robert looked at the angry little man for a couple of moments longer, before he took his hand away and stood. “I should… go.” He nodded a little, frowning sympathetically as Edward stood as well, fists clenched.

“To answer your question,” Hyde spoke in his plain Scottish accent, too heated up to bother putting up his fake English one. It unnerved Robert to hear. “When your pain wears off and Hastie returns, I will give him another reason to leave.”

Robert gulped. “I’m alright, thank you.” He went to turn and leave, but Edward quickly stepped forward and grabbed Robert’s waistcoat in his little hands.

“And allow him to kidnap again? Or perhaps to assault Henry some more?” Edward grinned widely. “Lanyon, if you aren’t in constant pain…”

“Mr. Hyde,” Robert sounded breathless suddenly, reaching up to gently hold Edward’s wrists. “Release me. Please.”

His grin vanished and was replaced by a deep scowl. His hold on the taller man remained.

Robert wordlessly gazed down at Edward before slowly lowering his hands from Edward’s wrists to his stomach, pressing his fingers gently into it.

Two and two were put together very quickly.

The blond man shrieked and released Robert immediately, then swung his fist up and delivered it straight into Robert’s cheek, sending him to the floor.

He yelled in return, grabbing the side of his face as blood from a bitten cheek filled his mouth. “Why must you…!!” He gritted his teeth.

“I will NOT allow him to touch me the way he did then!” Edward screamed, taking some stumbling steps backwards. “Not again, do you fucking hear me?!”

Robert could swear he saw Henry in that terrified expression. He nodded tearfully and pushed himself away from Edward. “I-I’m deeply sorry, I cannot control him!” He cried.

The true desperation and regret lacing Robert’s words seemed to get to Edward for a moment and his expression softened. “Robert…” He murmured, bringing his hands up to his chest. His face swiftly changed once more, back to dull rage and exhaustion. “Leave my house.”

Robert nodded and took a couple more steps backwards, swallowing the blood in his mouth. “Good… Good day, Mr. Hyde… Dr. Jekyll…” He turned on his heel and left in a flash.

The moment the front door was shut, Edward was off like a bullet to Henry’s room, locking himself inside once he got there. He held his shaking hands to his face and choked on a sob as he began fruitlessly rubbing away his snot and tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these next three or four chapters may as well all be titled 'stuff gets way worse very fast and not even the author can control it'
> 
> this chapter's also pretty long cuz in the original rp for the chapter, that scene with henry and edward wasnt in it :') but i realized i needed them to learn how to change at will soon, and since the story hasnt COMPLETELY fallen into chaos yet, i figured i'd stick some comedy and character progression in there heh
> 
> how many of you saw the very obvious 'it was hastie' hints ive been scattering through the fic and came to the same conclusion robert did? c:


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Hyde is unconvinced that the police found no evidence of a kidnapping at Dr. Lanyon's home, and takes it upon himself to do a double-check.

“Those fucking coppers slacked off.” Hyde growled as he put on his shoes, seated on his bed in his Soho apartment.

Jekyll sighed. ‘Then just tell them that. You don’t have to break into his home for a double-check.’

“He straight up told us Hastie did it!” Hyde threw his hands in the air dramatically.

‘But Robert wouldn’t want me to do this!’ Jekyll urged. Hyde snorted.

“That’s why I’m doing it.” He said simply.

Jekyll made a series of sounds that indicated he had no idea where to begin with how wrong Hyde was, but in the end only made a loud noise of frustration, prompting an amused laugh from his alter ego.

“Stiff upper lip,” Hyde cooed to his mirror as he made sure his clothing was all in a good state. “Even if he knows it’s just Henry in a funny costume, nobody else knows. Besides, even if he does see me, who is he going to tell?”

Henry took control of Hyde’s reflection, frowning at him with ruby red eyes. ‘He may have told his wife, his servants may know too. Oh, Hyde, we simply can’t do this.’ Jekyll fretted, his worried expression out of place on Hyde’s face. ‘Somebody is bound to see you. You could get arrested. I’ll lose Lanyon’s trust forever.’

“I’m a shadow of the night, Dr. Jekyll.” Hyde began, growling at Jekyll as he stepped closer to the mirror. “Nobody will see me, nobody will arrest me, and Lanyon already thinks he’s lost your trust. Why would you lose his? He’s like a lost puppy without his college fuck around.”

Henry went red in the face, for a multitude of reasons. ‘I just want you to know how little I support this little excursion of yours, and how fast I will give you backlash if anything bad should happen.’ Hyde’s reflection was green-eyed again, and Hyde blinked a few times, giving a funny little wave and watching his reflection follow.

Hyde frowned.

OoOoO

It didn’t take Edward very long to travel, via rooftops of course, to Dr. Lanyon’s home. He knew just the window to enter from, and slipped inside effortlessly.

‘Strange.’ Henry immediately began his commentary. ‘Typically his home is completely locked up by sundown.’

“Do you remember which door is the one to his office?” Henry’s question went ignored, as Edward silently strode down the hallway.

‘Edward--Oh, you know this.’ Henry figuratively rolled his eyes.

Edward grinned. “It’s this one.” He quickened his pace and reached for the knob of one door in particular, twisting it open and entering.

Within the room was a desk and chair, made from some rich wood that Edward didn’t care to know of. The surface was orderly, not a stray pen or paper in sight. Surrounding the desk were cabinets and drawers, presumably containing files and supplies any businessman or doctor would require to efficiently complete their practices. Edward took one look around the room before Henry had something to say once again.

‘Robert has never been this neat and tidy.’ He mused, as Edward stepped in and shut the door quietly behind him. He sniffed and put his hands on his hips.

“Where should we look first?” Edward asked the empty room. Henry babbled.

‘Err--Um, let’s have a look at the papers on his desk.’ He suggested, and Edward only huffed and walked over to the desk.

Edward lifted a couple sheets and skimmed the hastily written words on the pages, eyes moving quickly.

‘This… Is not Robert’s handwriting.’ Henry’s frown was audible. ‘Could this possibly be…?’

“Mmmm let’s look at this cabinet, this one over here.” Edward dropped the paper back onto the desk and traipsed to a nonspecific cabinet to the left of the desk, and swung the door open.

‘Oh, uh, is there a reason we’re not looking at the one to the right--’ Henry gasped loudly. ‘You are ignoring me, Edward Hyde!’

It took a tremendous amount of effort not to laugh. He swallowed his reaction and subsequently set his face in an innocent smile. “Maybe I just have nothing to say in response to you, Henry Jekyll.”

‘A simple ‘yes, Doctor’ would suffice!’ Henry growled, allowing himself to manifest beside Edward, his arms crossed and his brow raised in an authoritative way.

Edward failed to respond yet again, attention affixed to the contents of the cabinet he’d just opened.

‘Um, hello?’ Henry pursed his lips. ‘Where’s that ‘Yes, Doctor’?’

“Henry, shut up.” Edward snapped and reached forward to pull a book from the cabinet.

Henry seized up, about to go off on his alter ego for his rudeness, when he actually did shut up long enough to read the title of the book in his hands. With wide eyes, he read slowly. ‘The Book Of Were-Wolves… Why on Earth…?’

Edward hurriedly put that book away and stood up on the tips of his toes. His head lolled to the right so that he could read the spines of the next books in the cabinet. The topics ranged from more werewolf literature, to caterpillars and butterflies, to the effects of ghostly and demonic possession, to wendigo possession specifically...

Henry soon came to realize all of the books had a theme.

‘Robert is studying the transformation of the human body!’ He exclaimed in alarm.

Edward’s hand collided with his own head then, in a face palm. “You complete moron, it isn’t Robert, it’s Hastie!” He corrected aggressively. “Stop pretending you’re uninterested and focus completely on what’s happening!” He sounded absolutely drained, just wanting to engage completely in what he was trying to do. The task was, as Henry was beginning to understand, near impossible when his mind was split between paying attention, and doing everything he could not to.

‘Alright,’ Henry said softly, trying to ease Edward’s apparent stress. The last thing he wanted was to turn back here. ‘So it is Hastie, he’s studying human transformation. He himself is a victim of transformations, it would only make sense that he has interest in this, right?’

Edward took a deep breath as he latched immediately onto Henry’s calmer tone. “I mean I guess,” He responded, then closed the cabinet and walked back to the desk. “But I have an even more mad theory.”

‘Do you?’ Henry prompted. ‘I’m trying to get on the same page as you. Tell me your theory.’

He really did appreciate Henry’s enthusiasm. “To preface, it is clear that Hastie has been a separate consciousness from Robert for a long while. It’s entirely possible he’s become so independent that he wants to completely separate from Robert.”

‘Well--That could be likely, but I would expect that from anyone’s alter ego.’ Henry noted. ‘Haven’t you told me before you wish we had our own bodies?’

Edward stuttered for a second. “Um… I suppose.” He looked uncomfortable. “But I’ve also concluded that living separate from you wouldn’t feel right.”

‘Oh?’ Henry prompted.

“I feel like…” Edward took a deep breath. “We belong together. I need you to stay sane.”

An awkward silence filled the room.

‘... Uh--’

“And besides, how am I supposed to be the voice of your anxieties when we’re separate!!!” Edward yelled to cover his homosexuality.

‘Edward, your voice!’ Henry hissed in response. ‘Keep it down! And we’ve gotten offtrack!’ Edward nodded in heavy agreement and fell to his knees beside the desk, to open the drawer he’d meant to open earlier.

“It looks like, with this,” Edward began, a disturbed look overtaking his features. “We are directly back on track.”

Within the drawer was a series of file folders organized in no clear way, each labeled with names both familiar and not. Edward was quick to recognize Miss Lavender’s name, and his hand shot forward to grab the folder and pull it out. He stood and opened the file on the desk to get a good look at its’ contents. There was a stapled stack of papers within, written on vertically and horizontally in the same royal scrawl Edward had seen throughout the office already.

What truly interested him were the words written. Well-dated notes described everything that had happened, from exactly when Lavender had gone missing to only a few days ago, when she had been found. The man read quickly, skimming over words that documented how many days Lavender had taken to ask for food, how long it took for her to pass out of malnutrition, how much of the corpse she’d eaten when he gave it to her, only one and a half weeks after her capture…

Edward made it to the final page, the final passage Hastie wrote for Lavender’s case.

“‘I kept her drugged, so she would not recall anything. Hopefully by the time the police find her in the morning, the drugs will have worn off and she will not recall a single thing I’ve done to her for the past month…’” Edward’s eyes widened. “I feel sick. I feel so sick.”

‘Does…’ Henry choked a bit. ‘Does it say where she was kept?’

“Yes, but obviously she won’t be there anymore.” Edward growled, closing the file and stuffing it back where he’d found it, ripping another from the drawer and opening it on the desk like he had the previous one. “We need to find the rest of these people.”

‘Okay--okay, let’s look!’ Henry said urgently, his horror spurring Edward on more. They quickly found three pages stapled together, printed with maps of each floor of the Lanyon residence. On the third page, the cellar, a particular room was circled in red ink and labeled with the same name that labeled the folder.

“There!” Edward cried, pointing almost like a giddy child at the marked spot. “X marks the fucking--”

Someone turned the door handle.

Like a deer in the headlights, Edward froze and stared at the door. With thick tension, Henry and Edward both listened as a faint argument sounded through the door, and the door knob unturned. The door was then shaken and the knob was turned again.

‘Edward go, Edward, get out of there, Edward oh my heavens, Edward!!!’ Henry suddenly started talking a mile a minute, and leaving the folder on the desk, Edward turned away from the desk to face the window just behind it.

He ripped the curtains open and wrestled with the window lock for a good ten seconds, cursing under his breath as his hands shook. The window suddenly jerked open, and he took a foolish glance at the door again, seeing the handle turn and un-turn a couple more times.

With that, he leapt from the window and skidded down the roof, jumping down onto the ground heavily and sprinting off the property, heart hammering in his chest and pain blossoming in his gut.

Hyde did not bother to jump back to the rooftops, merely speeding through the London streets and causing a respectable amount of public alarm around him. The agony got worse and burned through him, and he barely made it back to his apartment in time, his hands still shaking as he locked the door behind him.

Their transformation ripped through them, and Hyde slipped down his door and curled into a weak fetal position on the ground as his body grew, his bones aching and his flesh feeling tight before it too accommodated his new shape. With a heaving sob, Jekyll uncurled himself and put his hands on his cheeks to affirm he even still existed.

He stood slowly and sorely, his heart still hammering in his chest and breathing heavily due to the sprint he’d just committed to return home, and one of his hands reached up to float above his head.

“You’ve lost your hat.” Jekyll murmured.

‘I know.’ Hyde replied just as small.

Through the thick silence, Jekyll walked into Hyde’s bedroom and then to his wardrobe, opening it up.

“... You don’t have a change of my clothing here.” He mumbled, blinking slowly.

‘I know…’ Jekyll sighed quietly.

The silence stretched over them again, before Jekyll turned towards Hyde’s full-body mirror. Hyde rested within it, looking just as weary.

“We need to go to the Society.”

‘Jekyll, fuck’s sake. Take a nap first.’

The brunette nodded helplessly and stripped out of Hyde’s too-tight clothing before dropping into his bed and immediately going unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's kinda boring imo :') sorry heh the next chapter's a lot of action and angst tho so get ready to see stuff you hoped you'd never see!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll isn't that kind of doctor, and can't help Miss Lavender with a few small symptoms of anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if ur sensitive to poorly written action scenes and nondescript acts of violence, here is ur warning that both of those things show their faces in this chapter. take care <3

Upon waking up, Jekyll experimented for a bit in controlled transformation once more, and managed, with no small amount of stress, to transform into Hyde all on his own. He dressed and left his apartment, then ran off to his own home to grab a change of Jekyll’s clothing before finally going to the Society for Arcane Sciences. He worked again on transforming by himself, and managed just fine this time.

He found the more times he did it, the easier it became. He hoped it would not become a problem later.

Dr. Jekyll now stood in front of the room Lavender stayed in presently, the truth hanging heavy about him. His hand hung likewise in front of Lavender’s door, poised to knock.

‘Go on, go on.’ Hyde urged. He too was exuding nervousness, but was more eager to get this over with than anything.

Jekyll frowned and pulled his hand away. “Perhaps she is not ready.” He turned away.

Hyde growled. ‘Jekyll!’

“It’s only been a few days, what if she is not ready?” Jekyll asked, facing away from the door and looking down the hallway.

‘You think she doesn’t deserve to know what we just learned?’ Hyde barked. ‘Don’t keep her in the dark any longer!’

Jekyll allowed himself a small whimper before he turned back to face the door, and reached forward to knock quickly.

There was a ruffling of cloth. “That you, Jekyll?” She called.

Jekyll blinked. “Good guess. How did you know?”

“You just spoke with yourself, did you not?” She laughed, her voice approaching the door. She opened it to reveal a distressed, embarrassed-looking Doctor.

“I apologize. Bad habit of mine, isn’t it?” He chuckled, his knocking hand raising to scratch the back of his neck.

Lavender rolled her eyes a bit as Jekyll took her in. She looked just like herself, peppy and sprightly, although it was clear she had been dedicating very little time to sleep recently, and far too much time to thinking. Hyde was certainly right, it was unfair to withhold the truth from the traumatized woman. “I’m afraid my room isn’t the best place for a chit-chat right now. It’s rather messy.”

Jekyll beamed a little. “I hardly care, I did not come to your room to judge the state of it.” He glanced past her to the dim space where she rested. “I only wish to present some closure.”

“Closure?” She frowned. “On, what, my case? That would be just dandy.” She sighed, not looking like she thought the idea was dandy, not at all. “Come in, let’s talk.”

The Doctor entered her space as she moved inside for him. The state of it wasn’t that bad compared to his own when he was about her age; papers and books were spread all about, maps pinned up everywhere and photographs, both blurry and not, pinned and framed on every inch of wall that wasn’t being used for maps and lights. As Jekyll took his seat in the spare chair beside her desk, he took note of the collection of barely-touched dishes she’d likely received throughout the day.

“So,” She closed the door and went to sit at her desk, turning the chair so she could face Jekyll properly. “Is this a long talk?”

“It has the potential to be,” Jekyll began, frowning. Lavender mirrored his expression.

“This feels like a bad talk, too.” She said grimly. “Let’s get it over with then.”

‘What an ambitious woman,’ Hyde commented, as Jekyll opened his mouth to speak. ‘I do hope this, uh, whatever Hastie did, is curable.’

“I have done some digging of my own, and uncovered some information about the circumstances of your kidnapping.” Jekyll informed her. She leaned forward.

“Something the police didn’t find?” She asked. “‘Cause I’ve heard all that they have to say.”

“This is new.” Jekyll assured, taking a deep breath. “I assure you, the police did not know about this.” This seemed to intrigue Lavender. She was quiet, prompting Jekyll to continue. “You were taken by a man by the name of Hastie.”

“Hastie…?” She drew out, pursing her lips.

“That’s all.” Jekyll stated. “Only Hastie. I believe it is an alias, a poor one at that, for he does not appear to have a surname.”

‘Oof.’

“Don’t think I’ve heard of him.” Lavender sniffed a bit. “Had you, before your spelunking lead you to him?”

“I had not.” Jekyll lied with ease. He may as well not have known him; who knows just how different Hastie really was from the sweet man Hyde had taken such a liking to?

“Well, elaborate.” Lavender frowned. “Did the source of that information tell you what he did to me too?”

“I don’t actually know much else,” Jekyll sighed. “But I will be telling the police Hastie’s name so that they may begin to look into who and where he is.” He assured.

“Tell me all that you know.” Lavender urged, leaning in further. “Please.” In the back of his mind, Jekyll noticed her eyes were cloudier than he ever remembered them being.

“This is heavy, brace yourself.” He warned. “In the documents I found, he’d written that he’d drugged you constantly.” He watched colour drain from Lavender’s already pale face. “This would explain a lot of things, I’m sure.”

“Oh, my god.” She muttered. “That would, indeed, why I didn’t remember anything…” She suddenly looked meek. “Do you think those drugs are why I’ve also been in poor health, or is that just because my body is still recovering?”

“I beg your pardon??” Dr. Jekyll tilted his head, sitting up straight in his chair. “I, ah, it’s entirely possible your body is just in withdrawal, catching up on all the bodily functions it missed out on during the time you were absent.”

Lavender thought on this for a few moments. “Do you mind if I run my symptoms by you? You’re a doctor, yes?” A soft smile cracked on his face.

“Not that type of doctor, but I will listen and see if I can’t get you a proper medical professional.” He ensured, with a wink. Lavender only seemed slightly uplifted by the goofiness.

“Aha… Well…” She cleared her throat. “To begin, I’ve barely had an appetite.” She gazed at her picked-at dishes of food piled atop her bedside table, with a delicate frown. “I haven’t even been that hungry for food, and… I wake up feeling just as dazed and confused as I did when I woke up in that street. I have also found myself chewing on my pens and fingers, alike to a teething baby.”

‘Yikes?’

“That does sound like a withdrawal-type of thing.” Jekyll proposed. “Or perhaps it is related to anxiety. But, don’t take my word for it.”

“That’s what Cantilupe told me,” Lavender said, eye widening. “But I’ll tell you what I told her, I experience no other symptoms that might link to anxiety or withdrawal. Mentally, I’ve been just fine, like I’ve always been. The only weird difference is that I’ve dreamt once or twice about eating corpses, but…”

‘YIKES.’

“What?!” Jekyll exclaimed, gripping the arms of his chair. “Don’t gloss over that last thing, you’ve never had dreams like that in the past, have you?” He stood. “Perhaps you might want to see an interpreter for that.”

Lavender frowned. “Are you here to diagnose me or be an ear for me?” She sat up, looking up at him. He hesitated.

“No, no, that is not my intent at all,” Jekyll waved his hand. “I only meant to come here to deliver information about your case.”

“Then is that all?” She asked, standing as well.

“Y-yes, that’s…” He looked up at her. “Lavender, you’ve grown!”

She furrowed her brows. “I’ve…” She gasped and stepped back from Jekyll, looking down at herself. Her arms had grown too long for her sleeves, and her legs too long for her skirt. Jekyll could see her ankles and wrists, more pale skin was exposed. Taking a good look at her, Jekyll also realized her hair was thinning and her eyes were glossing over even more.

Those eyes were quickly filling with panicked tears and she breathed heavy. “Jekyll…!”

“Lavender,” He returned, gently grasping her now-spindly hands. “Listen, I’ve read of creatures who devour the dead. I do not mean to further alarm you, but Mr. Hastie may have attempted to turn you into one of those creatures.”

“Attempted?!” She squealed, pulling away from him. “Look at me! He bloody succeeded!” She pushed herself against her wall of pictures, several coming off as her body dislodged nails and pulled staples.

“Please remain calm!” Jekyll fretted, eyes wide as he tried to approach her again.

With a horrible abruptness, she downright growled at him, loud. The sound filled the room and surrounded the now smaller of the two, and goosebumps covered his skin quicker than he realized what the sound meant.

Lavender’s face contorted to horror. “You need to go!” She gasped out, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands. Claws. “Leave, evacuate everyone!”

“Evacu--now, Lavender, that is enough!” He tried to gather himself, approaching her again. Another growl filled the space, and then a roar.

Her hands reached out and followed his voice to grab his shoulders, pulling him forwards. Jekyll froze completely and stared up into her face, realizing quickly that she couldn’t see him back. 

Everything happened fast, then.

Her grip tightened and Jekyll could see her squinting, trying to see.

Her claws nearly ripped holes into his overcoat and shirt as she dragged him closer.

Her teeth buried themselves into the crook of his neck.

He screamed, and she released him.

Jekyll kicked his feet into her torso and fell to the floor, winded. He did not care, though, focusing on getting to his feet and tripping towards the door, one hand clamped over the deep, bleeding bite.

He pulled the door open and nearly fell out of the room, immediately turning and sprinting down the hall for his office. His heart was pounding madly and a blossom of pain low in his belly was his only warning before, right in the hallway, he transformed.

“Shit, fucking--” Hyde hissed loudly and gripped his injury tighter as he ran faster, making it to Jekyll’s office and slamming the doors shut. He sped to Jekyll’s desk and began opening every drawer. “Where did I put it?!”

Jekyll’s office doors slammed open as a gangly monster crashed through them, screeching, which only caused Hyde to screech in return and literally rip a drawer out, digging through it and half-hiding behind the desk.

The beast heard the commotion and jumped up on top of Jekyll’s desk, disrupting the papers and other utilities upon it in favour of screaming down at the crouched man trembling behind the furniture.

With a sudden scream of his own, Hyde turned back into Jekyll, just in time to hold a handgun up in Lavender’s direction, and blindly shoot her directly in the abdomen.

She howled in pain and fell back in front of Jekyll’s desk, snarling and pressing her hands into the wound, in a disturbingly human way. By this point, the miserable monster was too disoriented and in too much agony to realize she wasn’t bleeding enough to kill her.

Still curled up behind the desk, Henry hyperventilated and trembled badly as he dropped the gun between his legs, watching his hands as they once more turned into Edward’s.

Edward choked on a sob at the sight of all his own blood on his hand, and pressed it quickly back into the throbbing bite wound in his neck. “I’m going to die, I’m going, ahh--”

Henry coughed as he turned back, and he grit his teeth. “We’re going to live, everything’s fine! We’re--”

Edward cried and sunk even lower to the floor, in a fetal position. “I’m bleeding out!! No medic can save me now!!” His other hand tangled through his blond hair.

Henry whined loudly and grabbed a fistful of his brown hair. “We need to stand up, we need a doctor--”

“LANYON!” Edward suddenly shouted, his small body seizing. “Lanyon’s a doctor, he’ll, he’ll save me! I need Lanyon!”

“Edward!” Henry sobbed, taking deep breaths. “Eddie, we can only get well if we’re calm!” He tried to stand up, peeking over the desk.

Edward nearly vomited at the sight of Miss Lavender’s spasming body, and he stared long enough to notice that she was slowly and horrifically turning human again.

Henry took several deep breaths, certain he could maintain Dr. Jekyll if he just looked at the floor and bit his cheek.

Edward showed himself once more and took himself to the door, seeing lodgers exit their rooms and flee for the door, lead by several servants of the Society.

Henry gasped and clutched his injury, terrified for a second that somebody had seen him transform, but it seemed he was only noticed after he stepped foot out of his office and a copper saw him, covered in his own blood, sweat, and tears.

OoOoO

Robert Lanyon saw member after member of the Society exit, feeling his heart could beat too fast and kill him if he didn’t find who he was looking for in the small crowd of scientists. However, one of the last to exit was the man he had been searching for, lead by a pair of confused and sympathetic coppers.

Just behind him, on a stretcher going straight to a hospital, was a shot Miss Lavender, cry after cry ripping itself from her exhausted body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops things escalated way quicker than they ever have before
> 
> sorry lavender fans;; i swear when we originally rp'd this we just wrote in whatever random lodger was on our minds at the time, not knowing THIS was gonna be their fate until we'd dedicated to lavender
> 
> so uh;;;;; yeah shes a wendigo! i mostly used visuals from the game until dawn to describe her as a wendigo, so look up what the wendigos in that game look like if ur curious!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon address their Lodgers, regarding the events of the previous day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops this took a long time to pump out, sorry about that! i had no motivation to write this chapter, it was definitely a lot more fun to roleplay cuz i had someone to bounce questions and answers off of :'D
> 
> anyway, my proofreader/rp partner fell asleep before he could proofread and tell me when ppl are out of character or i made an embarrassing typo, so pardon any messiness in this chapter ;v;

That afternoon, Dr. Jekyll and Miss Lavender were taken immediately into medical care. While Lavender had been out cold since arriving at the hospital, Jekyll remained awake and continuously demanded he be released from care early, claiming he was perfectly fit to go back to work. The large teeth marks gouged into his collar spoke otherwise, however as soon as the wound was cleaned and dressed properly, his pleas to leave finally reached the doctors caring for him, and Henry Jekyll was released.

He had only dressed himself in a clean dress shirt and pants, his waistcoat being too much pressure on his tender wound. The man now walked into the Society, and immediately his ears were welcomed to a loud conversation, over twenty voices trying to talk over each other. He also distinctly heard poor Dr. Lanyon attempting to project his own voice over the crowd of rowdy Lodgers.

“Seems like he’s not doing well in there.” Henry mumbled to himself as he approached the dining hall, where their meetings were typically conducted.

‘With the Lodgers or in general?’ Edward scoffed. ‘You saw his face when we left yesterday afternoon. Dramatic old thing probably thinks you died last night.’

“He is not that dramatic.” Henry rolled his eyes, surprised Edward bounced back from their injury so fast. “Now, unless you are going to be helpful to me, not another peep.”

Edward snorted. ‘Unless you are going to be helpful to me, not another peep.’ He imitated, exaggerating Henry’s fake little accent and lowering his voice a pitch theatrically. ‘Whatever. Go address your serfs.’

Henry took a deep breath, trying to keep composed despite his disheveled and unprofessional appearance, and pushed the doors to the dining hall open for his entrance.

The sound alone caused a decrease in volume, and a complete silence followed quickly once all eyes were on Henry. As the man scanned his audience, he took in each of their features.

Jasper appeared confused and worried, perhaps he had only heard rumors of what had happened and didn’t know what was the truth. Bird and Archer sat side by side, brows knit together in concern for their Society’s founder. Griffin seemed like his natural self, if not a notch or two more stressed out than usual. Maijabi had his hands wrung together and looked to be having a hard time looking at Henry, as if he knew things Henry didn’t. Helsby had his glasses off, rested on the table in front of him, it seemed that moments previously he had his hands over his face, probably in disbelief. Luckett was wearing some new-looking clothes, not a scorch mark on them, and his hat was off, resting on the table. Bryson typically did not attend these meetings, however it seemed he had deemed this an important enough occasion to show himself, and he looked a mix of miffed and frustrated.

Then there were Flowers and Ito, Henry noticed, who were on either side of one teary-eyed Mrs. Cantilupe. Her eyes were red and her hair was done up in a simple and messy way. It appeared as if her clothing had been thrown onto her body, none of it matched and it was missing any accessories she usually wore. Wholly, the older woman looked every bit as disheveled and upset as poor Miss Lavender had the previous day, before things went horribly wrong.

The sight of it made Henry’s stomach churn unpleasantly.

“Dr. Jekyll,” Came an even voice from the left side of the room. The founder followed the voice to Dr. Lanyon. “You shouldn’t be here. Return home at once.”

Henry blinked a few times and then shook his head. “I am fine,” He said simply, neutral as he could be. He walked towards Robert. “I must be here for this. I don’t care what condition I am in, I must be here.”

Robert gave an uneasy exhale as Henry took his seat beside him, and the Lodgers’ murmuring began up again. Robert tore his gaze away from Henry after a second and cleared his throat.

“Now that we appear to be in some kind of order,” Robert began. “Perhaps we can keep the order, and ask questions one at a time.”

“Do you want us to raise our hands?” Griffin asked, raising a brow.

“That would prove good for the sake of keeping the noise level down, yes.” Robert stated, and Henry caught Griffin saying something under his breath about elementary school tactics, and Archer beside him giving him an elbow in the side and a stern look.

Not all at once, a few hands began to raise, and Henry swallowed as he surveyed his options. “Dr. Helsby.”

Helsby lowered his hand and cleared his throat. “How are we paying for the damage done?” He asked. “Both to our building, and also the physical harm.”

“Ah.” Henry blinked. He had been preparing for the absolute worst questions, so he considered this question a good ease-in. “I am going to do my best to appeal for government funding to repair our building, as it is a workplace and residential building.” He explained.

“We can likely fix much of this ourselves for very cheap,” Robert added on, Henry becoming attentive. “To be frank, most of the property damage is fixable with new wallpaper and plaster, as well as some replacement furniture.” His focus moved to Henry and he smiled. “It looks worse than it is, much like Dr. Jekyll here.”

Henry gave a small huff, as the Lodgers latched onto the lightheartedness in favour of the suffocating tension the dining hall previously held. Once again, though, Henry selected a raised hand. “Miss Flowers.”

“Is Miss Lavender in stable condition?” She asked quickly, glancing to Cantilupe at her side. It appeared she was asking for a friend.

The Doctors shared a look, Robert’s one of anxiety and Henry’s one of conflict.

“She was in stable condition, when I left the hospital this morning.” The latter Doctor reported, giving Flowers a firm look. “Despite her, um, trauma, I was told she will recover from this. She will be in hospital for a while longer.”

“You shot her.”

Henry froze, eyes flicking to Flowers’ side.

Cantilupe was sitting up in her seat now, eyebrows furrowed together and the corners of her lips turned down. “We all heard the gunshot. You shot Lavender.”

The level of unease in the room skyrocketed once more and Henry felt himself begin to sweat.

“I did.” He said quietly, head falling and eyes glued to his lap.

Cantilupe’s aura progressed speedily from anger to horror. “Why did you have to shoot her? Jekyll, why?!” Her voice rose in volume, and Henry shrunk back in his seat, looking at her once more. He hadn’t seen her like this before. He wasn’t sure he’d seen anyone like this before, not since high school.

“I’m afraid I had no choice,” He began, speaking quickly. “I really didn’t--If only you’d seen what Lavender had become, the look on her face!”

“All she ‘became’ was a traumatized young woman!” Cantilupe cried, standing from her seat and slamming her pale hands down on the table. “You have done nothing to help her!” Jekyll now felt anger bubbling up in his belly.

“Now, wait a moment, Cantilupe!” He frowned. “I’ve done plenty for her! I’ve--” Robert’s hand went up in front of him and he stopped speaking, following the hand to its’ owner and giving him an angry look. Likewise, Ito and Flowers both did their best to calm the hysterical woman, seating her once more and murmuring quiet words to her. Henry took a moment to calm his nerves before he cleared his throat, all eyes on him.

“Please allow me to explain.” He met eyes only with Cantilupe as he spoke. “When I said what I said, I meant it quite in the literal sense, Mrs. Cantilupe. Her body was not her own. I was not sure what she had become at first, but I’ve considered the possibilities now…” He allowed his words to sink in. “I believe she became what is known as a Wendigo.”

Cantilupe’s face immediately lost its’ rage and paled, eyes blown wide and mouth open in a soft ‘oh’ shape. “I know of Wendigos. I studied them, back when I was a traveler.” She responded. “But how could she? Those spirits cannot possess just anyone!”

“I believe Lavender was given the proper circumstances to become transformed.” Henry theorized. Or rather, reported, but to the knowledge of the Lodgers this was a mere theory. “I believe the spirit of the Wendigo can be found at Blackfog Bazaar, and I believe her captor allowed her to consume the flesh of another man and become possessed.”

The repulsed expressions of his Lodgers spoke for themselves what each individual thought of Henry’s mad theory, and unable to face their despaired gazes, Henry looked away to observe Robert’s reaction.

The man was remarkably well-composed, his eyes crinkled in disturbance as he caught Henry looking at him and returned the stare. Henry noticed as well that his hands were folded in his lap, wringing themselves out above his thighs.

‘Dishonest old man…’

When Henry diverted his gaze from Dr. Lanyon once more, he distracted himself with the other hands in the air. “Ah… Mr. Kaylock.” Henry stated. Jasper hesitated a moment before he lowered his hand.

“My understanding is that you can’t change back from being a Wendigo,” He pouted his lip. “You said she had turned into one, yet when she left the Society, she was a human, wasn’t she?” He seemed to be asking out of genuine confusion, wanting to know more. Henry wished he could be as oblivious and curious.

“She was, yes.” He frowned. “I’m afraid I cannot explain that one. All I can assume is that Hah…” He faked a cough. “Pardon, her captor, has done something to her to make the transformation reverse itself.”

Jasper suddenly perked up. “Is there anything you can do to reverse that?” He looked at Ito across the table. “Or maybe, do you know how to make an antidote for it?”

On a regular occasion, Ito may have been irritated by the newbie’s question, however today they clearly didn’t have it in them to be bothered. “I would not be able to help her unless I spent a large amount of my time studying her, and the original species and spirit that possessed her.” They looked at Henry. “However, you, Jekyll…” They trailed off, leaving Henry awkwardly staring back at them as he flipped through pages of his mental chemistry notebook.

“Err--I--Maybe!” He stammered out unprofessionally, and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I can look through some of my old books, pick up some of my old chemistry equipment again, but it would take me, as well, a great amount of time.” Jasper looked uninspired by the response. Henry’s eye caught a hand go up. “Mr. Luckett?”

The typically smoky man patted down his waistcoat. “If you cannot cure her new condition, does this mean she will be part Wendigo forever?” He asked.

“Well,” Henry gulped. “Again, nothing is for certain--”

“To add to that, will she be a glossy-eyed scientist attacker every time she’s transformed?” Maijabi suddenly spoke up, with a great level of concern for the safety of his coworkers.

“Please do not speak unless you are addressed!” Robert scolded.

“We aren’t toddlers, Lanyon.” Griffin piped up once more, with a growl and a fist on the table. “Let’s debate like adults! How the hell do we fix Lavender?”

“Fix isn’t the right word,” Archer retorted quickly, one hand over Griffin’s fist. “And calm down, we are not here to fight with each other.”

“Who says we’re not?” Griffin spat, pulling his hand away from Archer’s and glaring at a petrified Henry. “We can’t let a full-blown Wendigo back into the Society, so what do we do with her if we can’t turn her back?”

“That is quite enough!!” Robert rose his voice, in a deep effort to calm the growing rowdiness welling up in the crowd of scientists.

This, however, backfired, as all at once every Lodger was talking and asking questions as loudly and quickly as they had before Henry had put a stop to it with his grand entrance. The calamity of it was too much for the injured man to handle, his heart was pounding in his ears, his fists were clenched on the lip of the table, his stomach aching far too much for it not to be food poisoning or something.

‘Jekyll, Jekyll, JEKYLL, GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE!’ Edward’s voice was suddenly louder in his ears than any of the other members of the hall, and Henry nearly fell out of his chair as he stumbled out of it and choked down a cry as the gouges across his collarbone throbbed. He didn’t even think about it as he bolted from the dining hall out the nearest door, into the kitchen.

The door barely shut behind him as he braced himself on the center island, nails scraping against its’ surface. His hair lightened at the same time as it grew and thickened atop his head, and he grit his teeth and hissed as his bones and flesh warped only slightly to alter his appearance, and before long, Edward Hyde leaned against the counter where Henry Jekyll had moments previous.

He only got a few haggard breaths in, until the loud, metallic twang of a tray hitting the floor snapped his head up.

Rachel stared at Edward with the most hidefied expression he’d ever seen on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yeah also sorry for the cliffhanger ilu guys;;;;;;


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Pidgley tries to kill Mr. Hyde, and Dr. Lanyon stops them in time for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to explain.

Edward and Rachel were engaged in their staring contest for longer than either of them could tell. Millions of thoughts and voices raced through Edward’s mind as his gaze unwavered from Rachel’s completely horrified expression. Rachel was going to question him, disown him as a companion, slaughter him, she was going to quit the Society, she was going to tell the police. Rachel would run away and he would never see his best friend ever again. And why shouldn’t she, when he was a monstrous being with two consciousnesses and no control over his own body’s reaction to stress?

Enough time had passed, according to God, for Rachel to have another reaction to what she’d just witnessed.

She screamed. At the top of her bloody lungs.

Edward flinched bad and yelped, stumbling backwards against the wall beside the door. He rebounded off that wall and sprinted towards Rachel, slapping his hand over her mouth and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Shhhshhshhshh!” He urged in a flurry of panic, right in her ear. “Rachel don’t SCREAM like that, people will--Fuck!” Teeth sunk into his hand and he removed his hand, shaking it as if that would numb the new pain of her bite mark in his palm.

He stared at her in alarm. “You BIT ME!” He screeched, using his other hand to grasp his injured hand and inspect the marks in it. With Edward so easily distracted, Rachel pushed him away from her and ran for the opposite side of the kitchen.

“And YOU’RE Henry Jekyll!” She cried in response, yanking a sizable knife from the wooden block upon the counter.

“I’m not Henry, just lemme talk--” He froze when he saw her with the knife, but immediately bolted from her to hide half-behind the center island when she charged at him. “Don’t swING THAT THING AROUND JESUS CHRIST!!!”

She climbed up onto the island and swung the knife at him, face twisted in determination to definitely slaughter the fuck out of Edward. He screamed and ducked, beginning to tremble with fear for his life. “Just--Rachel--Fuck’s sake--Let me explain myself just don’t fucking kill me you psychopath!”

“... Blazes is going on in here?!” Poor Robert’s voice caught Edward’s attention and he whipped his head to look at the door he had entered as Henry only a minute or so ago. At the sight of him, Edward let out a hefty breath of air and pretty much crawled towards the man, grabbing his pant leg like a child.

“She saw us, Lanyon!” He cried, looking up at the alarmed man. “She knows and she’s on a goddamn rampage, she wants to KILL us!”

“O-okay, now, settle down Mr. Hyde,” He warily placed a hand on Edward’s head, giving it a few awkward pats. “It’s possible she’s just alarmed by what she’s seen.”

“What is going on in here?” Rachel repeated Robert’s question, eyes wide. “Why don’t YOU explain, seeing as you appear to know soooo much about Dr. Jekyll, here!”

He gave her a firm, almost fatherly look. “Miss Pidgley, I’ll begin by telling you to put your weapon down.”

Edward then remembered the weapon and looked at Rachel, screeching when he saw that the knife had continued to point at him as he moved to Robert’s heels. “God’s sake!” He exclaimed and hid his face against his fists, still clutching onto Robert’s pant leg. “Put the knife down! I am not a hog to be carved!”

Rachel stammered for a few seconds, mouth opening and closing several times before she found some acceptable words to speak. “Is this like the situation with Lavender? Is there some kind of--some kind of shapeshifting virus going around??” She waved the knife, making Robert yelp a bit.

“If you could listen to Mr. Hyde, please,” Robert sounded a fair amount nervous as well, frowning deeply and eyebrows furrowed together. “We can explain this with words and not violence.”

Her face contorted into one of disbelief. “Can we really? Because I am feeling rather threatened by what just happened!” Robert didn’t have a moment to cut in before she kept talking. “Two men, or maybe, maybe THREE men, keeping some grand secret from me and likely everyone else on the planet! That’s a dangerous secret, you know! Whatever mutation gene is going around, whatever affected Lavender, has clearly affected Dr. Jekyll too, and maybe he should be shot too to make him turn back! Is that how this works?!”

Edward cried out in alarm at the threats and harsh words, and kept his body small, refusing to do much more than tremble and keep his eyes closed for fear of the welling tears escaping. Henry fully expected the panic Edward felt to be enough to trigger another transformation.

“Mr. Hyde is not a dangerous man,” Robert said slowly, keeping his hand rested upon Edward’s blond mop. “And neither is Dr. Jekyll, and if you would please, PLEASE, put your weapon away, we may discuss what you’ve just witnessed.”

Rachel seemed to consider saying more, but opened her eyes a little wider to see the state her actions had put her friend in at Robert’s feet, and her expression softened a little. She climbed down off the center island and placed her large kitchen knife back into its’ block.

“Thank you.” Robert said, trying to seem kind, although he was admittedly upset by how long it took to convince Rachel to calm the hell down. “Mr. Hyde, if you could release me…” He looked down at the bundle of nerves beneath him, who only curled tighter, gripped harder onto his clothes.

With a sigh, he crouched and gently reached in to grab Edward’s face and force him to look up, and open his teary eyes to see Robert’s soft features. “She’s put the knife away, you are not in danger.”

His face looked so much like the man he loved, it hurt him more than the knife might have.

Regardless, Edward sniffled and let go of Robert’s leg, then stood up shakily and turned slowly to look at Rachel. She grimaced at his state of being, Henry’s clothes hanging from his frame and making him look very much like an infant. His face was red, his lips were turned down in a distinct and upset frown. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides.

“I, ahem.” She began, quietly. She felt embarrassed. “I don’t know why my first instinct was to injure you, Edward. I am sorry.”

“Mm.” Edward could reply only as such, averting his eyes from her apologetic face to stare down at his ill-fitting shoes. Rachel cleared her throat and tried to ignore the way her hands started to sweat.

“R-right.” Robert cut in, taking a deep breath and walking forward so he was standing between the two. “Well, before I came in here, I told the Lodgers I would be back once I settled whatever you were up to in here, so…”

“Get out of here.” Edward spat, his fear dying down and sizzling into an exhausted anger. “We get it, you have business to attend to.”

“Right. Right.” He nodded to Edward, then to Rachel, said a quick farewell, and scurried out of the room, his voice heard in the next room trying to calm the storm that had picked up while he was gone.

Soon, it was just Edward, Rachel, and the muffled hail storm ripping through the next room.

“... Hmm, so…” She looked meak. “Do you want to explain here, or…”

“Let’s go to Jekyll’s office.” Edward grumbled, walking towards the exit door. “Everyone else is in the other room, so nobody will see me.”

“Okay.” She said quietly, and followed behind him. She didn’t miss the way he looked over his shoulder constantly to check if she was there, or perhaps to see if he was about to be attacked by her once more. It gave her an unsettled feeling to see him so alert around her. He was usually quite relaxed, he was so calm around her, they were good friends ever since he started work as Dr. Jekyll’s assistant.

They reached Henry’s office before long and once Rachel entered, Edward closed the door and locked it with a grievous sigh. He then turned to her, looking vulnerable.

“I am Henry Jekyll.” He stated. “You know me, we met a long time ago, just after I got out of college with my doctorate. Time passed, and once I opened up this building with my college friend Dr. Robert Lanyon, I brought you on board as the resident chef, and you have been here ever since.”

Rachel seemed very confused. “Uh--I’m sorry, it’s bizarre hearing you say this, when you look like Master Hyde.” Edward cringed.

“Ehh, that is where things get complex,” He cleared his throat, struggling to maintain eye contact with Rachel. “See, just over a year ago, I was reaching a breakthrough in my private studies and ambitiously practiced an experiment on myself, an experiment that if done properly, would remove all of a person’s negative traits, toxicity, and harmful qualities…”

A pit formed in Rachel’s stomach. “No. Don’t go on.”

“I have to.” Edward’s voice quieted. “That night, when I injected myself with my own formula, something unexpected happened. My body was altered, my MIND was altered, my entire self… I was changed. I was everything Jekyll wanted to be rid of, every part of him that he didn’t like or thought of as undesirable. I was Edward Hyde.”

“No.” Rachel repeated, shaking her head a little. “That’s… No! That’s just absurd. I’m sorry, that’s mad.”

“Rachel, believe me!” He urged, placing his hands on his chest. “It is only recently that the formula has stopped working and we’ve begun transforming at random. When Henry becomes ‘suddenly ill’, what do you think that means?”

Rachel became meek. “Is it… When he turns into you?”

“It is precisely that, yes.” He nodded. “You’re smart, Rachel, and you will have no choice but to realize I’m telling the truth in a few moments.” He placed a hand over his stomach.

“Hmm?” She looked at his hand, then placed her own over her mouth. “Are you…?”

Hyde nodded, mouth set in a firm line. “I am. Please don’t scream this time.” He smirked a little.

Rachel caught the joke and laughed easily. “I promise. Forgive me if I recoil a little bit.”

“It’s Dr. Jekyll, I don’t blame you at all.” He winked, which gave her another bout of giggles, before he gasped a little and braced himself on Henry’s desk, trembling a bit.

Rachel did her very best to resist the urge to cringe or look away, as Edward’s body contorted and filled out his clothing once more, his hair returning to Dr. Jekyll’s look (albeit a little messy), and his face changing ever so slightly into the other man’s. Rachel noticed their noses were exactly the same and for a moment felt stupid that she hadn’t noticed that before today.

Henry looked up at her once the process was over, and gave her a shy little wave and a smile. “Hello, Miss Pidgley.”

“Uhh, good morning, Dr. Jekyll.” She said quietly, feeling uncomfortable. Henry sensed this quickly and frowned.

“I am so sorry you’ve found out about this,” He began, taking a few steps towards her. “You can see why we have kept this a secret from everyone. Dr. Lanyon finding out was an accident as well, you can understand how it has become harder for us to hide this now that we are changing seemingly at random.”

“You have no control over this?” She asked with a tilt of her head. Henry laughed nervously and shook his own head.

“As of late, no.” He said. “We used to drink the formula, but… I believe too much of it in my system has made my transformations unstable. I have not taken it in several weeks, in the hopes that perhaps I will stop transforming randomly and will be able to control it with my formula once more.”

“How has that been working out?” Rachel asked, with a lopsided smile. Henry’s hand went up to scratch the back of his neck.

“Not well, at all.” He shrugged. “The most I have accomplished is a vague comprehension of how to transform at will, but even then it does not work every time and I can do little to control a transformation if it’s coming from anxiety or just at random.”

“Oh! They’re emotionally charged transformations!” Rachel exclaimed, then blinked and shrank away from Henry. “You already knew that, didn’t you. You’re the scientist.” Henry smiled warmly, loving to see her passion.

“Not at all, Rachel, I am so glad you still express interest in my work.” He offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It is a little strange to be talking so casually and openly about something I have been hiding for this long, but… I am glad it’s you who found out, and I’m glad you aren’t horrified by this.” She tensed and smiled, looking up at him.

“I won’t tell anyone else about this. Your secret is safe with me, of course.” Rachel said certainly, with a nod of her head.

“I should hope so.” He brought his other arm forward, but then hesitated. “Ah… I…” He looked down at her awkwardly. She snorted and opened her arms.

“Come here.” She said simply. Henry showed her a watery grin and closed the space between them, hugging her close to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there was supposed to be this whole other thing with lanyon & jekyll, but i got to 2000 words before i could squeeze it in, so its gonna be chapter 16 instead!
> 
> sorry i didnt get this chapter out to you guys last week, ive been every variety of stressed and i needed a little breather :') excuses excuses, i know, but october has become my new busiest month, ever since i graduated.
> 
> so! as usual, leave me some feedback please, and i will see u all next week i hope! <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Pidgley and Dr. Jekyll return to the conference, and once it is over, Mr. Hyde encounters somebody he used to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is going up with no editing cuz after i got home from my 12 hour shift i decided to unwind a bit before hittin the chapter with everything i have, and by then it was 11:30 and my editor fell asleep :'D
> 
> its now real late at night and i hope there arent any embarrassing mistakes in this chapter, and i hope its enjoyable regardless of any stupid mistakes you may find!

Post-affection, Henry and Rachel agreed to confidentiality, as any good friend would after learning such a personal and dark secret. Of course, Henry had explained to her how important it was for this to remain completely secret, and Rachel had to assure him that his condition was one hundred percent secret. He had also explained, in the briefest of terms, how Robert had found him out, of course omitting Hastie’s big reveal on that fateful evening.

“Do you need me to re-dress your wound, Doctor?” Rachel asked, pointing out how the wrapping had come loose. It appeared that the transformation loosened and re-tightened them in an off position to how they were originally wrapped. Henry had hardly the time to notice until she mentioned it.

“That would be kind of you, Miss Pidgley.” He said softly, and allowed her to guide him to the embarrassingly heavily-used medical wing of the building.

As she dressed the bite mark, they continued to talk, their topic swaying from Jekyll & Hyde’s strange case to Henry’s specific brand of chemistry and potion-making, and from there they went down several different paths of conversation.

Occasionally Jekyll would repeat something that Hyde had said, and subsequently respond or mediate a conversation between him and Rachel. It felt oddly familiar to the feeling one might experience when using a translator to have a chat.

Rachel found that she may get used to this new situation (or at least, new to her) rather quickly.

They walked and spoke on their way back to the common room, where thankfully they could hear, muffled, Robert’s voice sternly speaking. Once they entered, they realized that somehow he had managed to calm the rowdy bunch of adults down to a one-question-at-a-time pace, and he was in the midst of answering a question Bryson had given.

Robert only glanced to the pair, faltering in word for a small moment before resuming with his answer, something about starting monthly evacuation practices, seeing as their evacuation the evening before was sloppy and unorganized.

“To have rehearsals for evacuation of this building, in short, would be a great idea,” Robert concluded his answer. “Once a month seems too plenty; I don’t believe we’ll need that many times to practice being orderly. I trust you all more than that.” There was a small amount of laughter from the crowd of unique beings. Robert smiled. “I will discuss the matter with Dr. Jekyll here, as well as the police force, to see if we can perhaps arrange bi-yearly evacuation drills.”

“Thank you.” Bryson seemed very satisfied with the answer he was given, and allowed himself to sit more relaxed in his seat. “And welcome, Dr. Jekyll.”

“Yes, and Miss Pidgley, welcome.” Robert picked up Bryson’s formal greeting, giving each new member of the conference a nod. Rachel nodded back, still a little happy-high from her friendly chatter with Henry.

Henry, however, did sober up when he heard Robert’s tone. He didn’t like the voice the other Doctor was using, and he couldn’t place why…

OoOoO

The conference lasted as long as it needed to, for each of the Lodgers’ questions and concerns following the previous evening to be addressed. Most everyone had walked out of that room feeling satisfied with their information, and comfortable in their work environment once more. Cantilupe still felt she deserved more closure, and was assured that she and Dr. Jekyll would leave to see Miss Lavender as soon as she was well enough to be seen.

Rachel and Henry found themselves staying behind, still chattering about this and that as the room emptied speedily.

“I have to thank you again for your help today, Miss Pidgley.” He offered her a small bow. “It is good to have another, ah, ally I shall say.”

“Please, Doctor, don’t!” She waved her hand. “I am happy if you are, and by all means if something like today occurs again, let me be your go-to.”

“Well, with an offer like that, I feel I have no choice!” Henry gasped, widening his eyes. “I shall come running the moment something is amiss!” Rachel giggled as Henry swooned to the side theatrically. He was feeling rather bubbly with the conclusion of such a rough series of events.

“Dr. Jekyll stop, goodness!” Rachel snorted a bit, waving her hands back and forth. “You must be in quite the positive mood to be acting like this! I thought the theatrics were left to Dr. Lanyon?”

At the mention of the man, both occupants of the room seemed to remember that Dr. Robert Lanyon had also not left, and was glowering at them from where he was still seated. They both looked his way, to which he just as quickly looked away.

Awkwardly, and sensing the tension, Rachel turned fully to face Henry. “I just remembered, I completely forgot about my treats in the kitchen!”

Henry blinked, looking at her. “Your… Oh! Oh, no, Hyde and I ruined them, didn’t we?” He spoke in a bit of a hushed voice now, sounding guilty. “I am so sorry. Mr. Hyde also apologizes.”

‘I didn’t say anything, you fake bastard.’

“It’s alright, happens all the time!” She shrugged. “Or at least, used to, when I was first learning how to cook! I would get so frustrated I would just toss my failed recipe onto the floor, cool down for a while, and then return to clean up and try another twenty times.”

Henry laughed at this. “I wouldn’t take you for the type, you seem so calm when you are baking!”

“Not when I was younger, goodness, let me tell you...”

Rachel was two words from going on an extensive tangent, before there was a clearing of somebody’s throat. Once more, the pair’s heads turned to look at Robert, both a little sheepish.

“Dr. Jekyll,” He spoke through halfway-grit teeth. “I do not mean to interrupt, but may we have a moment alone to discuss today’s meeting? You missed very much of it.”

“... Ah.” Henry pursed his lips. “Yes. Allow me to wrap up my conversation and we can go to my office to talk.” He then turned to Rachel once more.

She looked up at him and shrugged a little bit. “I think I will go and make a new batch of goodies. Something nice for everyone to enjoy.”

“Are you making cookies?” Henry asked, one brow raised.

“You’ve read my mind!” Rachel exclaimed, and the two shared a laugh.

“Please deliver a few to my office as well, I should still be there when you are done. And perhaps Dr. Lanyon may take one before he leaves.”

“Of course, I’ll visit you first.” She gave him a wink and headed towards the kitchen door.

“Take good care, Miss Pidgley. Do not drop your sweets this time around.”

“As long as you stay out of my kitchen, that won’t be problem!”

Henry grinned. “Yes, yes. Off with you, now.”

She waved small and laughed once more before disappearing into the kitchen. Henry stared at the door a moment, a pleasant look resting upon his features.

“A-hem.” Robert once again dragged his attention away from Rachel, and Henry found a small sigh escaping his mouth as he turned to Robert, who had stood. “To you office?”

“Yes, to my office.” Henry mumbled informally, turning to lead Robert there.

Normally when the pair walked together, the air was not this suffocating, nor this silent. Only the heels of their shoes hitting the floor filled the deafening quiet, as Henry brought Robert across the Society to his small domain.

Once the door was closed, Robert’s mouth opened.

“Henry, my God, that was the worst thing ever. They simply would not be quiet! Not for two seconds, not even for ONE second! One always talking over the other, or interrupting to add their own irrelevant opinion! They simply CANNOT wait for each other to just wrap up a thought before they move onto the next topic! How can you stand to speak with them all day long? They seem like the most unpleasant conversational partners! It was only after they saw that their bickering and fussing made you ill that they finally realized the negative repercussions of their stress-inducing debate tactics!”

“Robert, Robert--” Henry frowned deeply. “Lord’s sake, please, slow down! Are we here to bring me up to speed with the results of the conference or to complain about our Lodgers?”

“I mean,” Robert spat. “You did not actually miss much, we recapped it all at the end anyhow so you did get the gist of what was discussed, did you not?”

“Well, I suppose I did, yes, however--”

“And anyway, Henry, I can clearly see that you think the same, or at least similarly to myself.” Robert jumped right back to the previous train of thought. “I can see that Miss Rachel Pidgley may be the only person in this building you’ll trust with your secret, and while she did find out by mistake, she may have still been the only one you would have willingly told out of all the members of this Society.”

“Robert, I said slow down, please--”

“And I did agree with that, for a time. She is smart, she keeps secrets, she cares very much and knows how to provide for everyone as well as, perhaps better than, most chefs or even servants. However after today’s displays, I think I will have to change my tune. The way you two talked, goodness, even the way you have been looking at each other since she found out! Why, one might think you two were about to elope!”

Robert dropped his rant suddenly, closing his lips tightly as if he had not meant to bring that topic to the surface. Henry stared at him, his own mouth slightly agape.

“Ahh… You think…” He swallowed. “Robert, would it bother you if Miss Pidgley and I were…”

“No.” He answered before Henry could finish, looking very uncomfortable. “It would not.”

“Oh.” Henry looked down to his feet, then back up to Robert. “Because, um, we are not.”

“Huh?” Robert asked, blinking at Henry.

“We are not romantic.” The younger stated, with a shake of his head. “Funny story, she and I tried to have something in the first few years of our friendship, but it just did not work. Somehow, we managed to remain friends. Isn’t that lucky?”

“Herm. Yes. Lucky…” Robert wilted slightly. “Dr. Jekyll, please do not leave.”

“I-I’m sorry?” Henry stammered, confused. “What… That was rather random. Are you alright, Robert?”

“Henry…” Robert chuckled, a sad expression painting his face. “As of the end of his rant, I am no longer Robert Lanyon.”

It took no longer than five seconds for Henry to stiffen in realization, flinch in horror, and immediately try to dive past the other man to the door.

Hastie quickly turned and grabbed ahold of Henry, holding him as his body changed and he grunted in pain.

“Please, I said, don’t leave,” He grit his teeth as Henry struggled and began to tremble. Before Hastie’s eyes, in his arms, Henry’s hair lightened and grew, his frame became slimmer.

Edward’s hiss was Hastie’s only warning before teeth sunk into his forearm and he yelped, nearly releasing the little man.

“Why, Eddie, what was that for?” He asked with an almost playful pout.

“Lemme go, you motherfucker!” Edward screeched in his outdoor voice. “I want NOTHING to do with you! Neither half of me does!”

“Edward, please,” He sounded sad now, more than sad really. Quite devastated. “You need to be calm so that this apology can go smoothly, it won’t work if I have to hold you down because you are trying to escape me.”

“Ye think maybe we don’t care for an apology?” His angry Scottish accent shone through in his rage, and he kicked Hastie’s shins. “LET GO OF ME, YOU WICKED BEAR!!”

“Edward Hyde, you must be calm at once!” He suddenly barked, squeezing Edward’s midsection where he held the smaller man. Edward choked and began to cough, his stomach aching not from his transformation but from Hastie’s arm pressing into it.

“Okay okay, fuckin’, stop hurtin’ me and I won’t leave!” He finally bargained, hands flailing as he tried to free his arms to grab Hastie’s arm around his abdomen.

He all but collapsed at Hastie’s feet once he was released, and coughed more, thumping his fist against his chest. “God--damned--” he felt weak from the struggling and the multiple transformations, as well as his wound lacking the pressure of properly wound bandages.

Edward felt lightheaded as he looked up at somebody he once thought was soft and safe.

“Can you turn back into Dr. Jekyll for me, Eddie?” He asked quietly, kneeling before the little blond.

“I can’t do it at will yet.” He white-lied. He did not have the energy to spend on building up enough anxiety to transform, nor did poor Henry, who Edward vaguely recognized as having gone dead silent in fear. He wondered if the Doctor was having a flashback.

“Then perhaps he may listen to my apology from here.” Hastie took a deep breath. “I am deeply regretting my monstrous actions towards you, Henry Jekyll. All I meant, as hard as it is to believe, was to unite Robert and yourself, as Edward and myself are… Were… United.”

Edward listened with skepticism, squinting at the larger man as he tried to slowly move away.

“He was merely too cowardly to admit to you himself that he had such strong feelings, and so I… He asked me to help him.” Hastie explained. “I thought if I behaved as Robert would, and seduced you, then perhaps he could take over and you two would be happy together.”

“Wait.” Edward interrupted. He was surprised when Hastie did actually pause, and so Edward went on. “You know Jekyll and Lanyon can’t do that, right? Their reputations and all that won’t allow it. Scum like us can do whatever we please; nobody knows we’re only disguises for distinguished gentlemen such as them.”

Hastie bit his lip. “Please, Edward, I am telling you the truth.”

“And I am seeing one hundred holes in your swiss cheese story.” Edward sneered a little. “You’ve already… You’ve broken my heart, and Jekyll’s as well. I will not allow you to lay another finger upon us. Leave, both you and Lanyon.”

Hastie stiffened. “How long do you need?”

“Fuck, I don’t know.” Edward sighed loudly and pushed himself just a little further from Hastie. “Maybe until our horrible feeling about you wears off and we are willing to accept your dumb swiss cheese apology.”

“And that may take forever.” Hastie stated, looking steadily more frustrated. “It is like with your theory for your transformations, Eddie. You don’t expect that theory to really work, do you? Come with me now, Edward. I can teach you how to change at will, like myself.”

“Did ye not hear what I just bleedin’ told ye?!” Edward cried, shaking his head. “No! I won’t go with you!”

“Come with me!” Hastie insisted, leaning towards Edward. “We can be ourselves, we can lock up Lanyon and Jekyll and never worry about having to present so formally ever again! We can run rampant, drink all we want, sleep all we want! We can perform mad science together!”

Edward was too shocked by Hastie’s thick skull to interrupt.

“Live not as Henry Jekyll. Live as Edward Hyde, with me, together.” Hastie urged. “You and I, we can do marvelous things…” He reached forward and hooked a finger beneath Edward’s chin, making the blond bristle. “Come with me, Edward, please, just follow me…”

Edward made sure to wait a solid amount of time, staring defiantly into Hastie’s eyes, before he was certain the larger man was finished.

“I will not go with you, Hastie.” He grit out. “My dedication right now is to aid Dr. Jekyll, as his safety and health has become a major contributor to my own safety and health, as of late. People like you will do nothing to help Jekyll or myself, so I’ll ask you again before I give you the Lavender treatment.” Edward leaned up to get in Hastie’s face. “I will never go with you. Leave my office, now.”

Edward Hyde felt himself puff up with protective pride, and reveled in the shattered, genuinely miserable expression Hastie wore. He felt confident, he felt like Henry would be praising him for weeks, no, months after this, like Henry would heal twice as fast knowing Edward was his best possible bodyguard, knowing that he was safe and sound as long as he kept Edward around...

Edward Hyde was struck upside the head so hard he saw double, he saw triple, and then all he saw was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya so....... this is maybe the fourth last chapter
> 
> dont get mad aaaa i have a good(sad) plan for how this story will end, and i hope that by the end of it all, u all feel satisfied with how it went!
> 
> theorize what u think is gonna happen, or how u want it to end! maybe ill like ur idea so much i put it in the final thing c: ciao! <3


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Pidgley discovers Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon are missing, and employs some help to search for the pair.

Rachel hastily worked at her pastries, whipping up some fresh dough and put together a new tray of warm, soft cookies. Actually, she decided she would make several; by the end of her baking binge, she had made five trays of chocolate chip cookies. She would have been embarrassed if not for her motivation.

Equipped now with one of her trays, she walked with a small skip in her step up to Dr. Jekyll’s office, expecting perhaps to catch Dr. Lanyon before he had left (She doubted he remained, she had taken a very long time to make all those cookies), and maybe the three of them could partake in a little cookie-consumption party.

Although Dr. Lanyon was not particularly a friend of hers, she hoped maybe she would warm further up to him, and him to her, now that they both were in the Jekyll-Is-Hyde club.

Propping the tray on one hand, she gave the door a couple knocks and waited for a response. Several awkward seconds passed, and her giddiness and dreams of a perfect trio of friends diminished greatly. She knocked again, and soon after realized that she had not even heard the pair of men inside. Would they not have been talking with each other? They were awfully silent.

“Dr. Jekyll? Dr. Lanyon?” She called through the door, pursing her lips. “I’ve brought something for you.”

For the third time, she was graced with zero response.

Although she knew how taboo it was to enter Dr. Jekyll’s office without his explicit permission, she took a chance and allowed her hand to move to the door handle, allowed the handle to twist under her hand, allowed herself to push the door open and peep inside the office…

Only to find, horrified, that nobody was inside.

She hastily swallowed her concern and tried to use reason before she jumped to any wild conclusions.

Rachel theorized that once they got here, Mr. Hyde had shown himself, immediately scrambled out the window, and left Dr. Lanyon with no other option than to leave.

Rachel theorized that they had lied to her and they had actually gone someplace else, although she did not know where they would possibly go.

Rachel theorized that the pair were behind Dr. Jekyll’s desk as she stood in the doorway, half naked, completely mortified and hoping she would not catch them in such a homosexual position.

She quickly paced towards the desk and looked behind it.

Nothing. Damn.

She set her tray of goodies over Jekyll’s paperwork, as she bustled around the room looking for the two men. It only took her moments to realize, of course, how silly this was, seeing as this was not some enormous space and she would have seen them upon opening the door, had they been in this room at all.

That is when her panic returned and she exited the room, hardly remembering to close his office doors as she left, and rushing to speak with some of the Society’s few servants and keepers.

“Daniel!” Rachel approached one of the servants, who jumped at her voice and spun to see her.

“Oh, Rachel.” He smiled to her. “Are you feeling better? I heard you dropped a tray earlier, that never happens.”

“Unimportant,” She quickly brushed off. “Daniel, has Dr. Jekyll left the building that you know of?”

Daniel hesitated. “Uh--no, ma’am, I haven’t seen him since he went up to his office with Dr. Lanyon.”

“So you don’t know if Dr. Lanyon has left too?” She urged, getting a little into his face. He huffed.

“Rachel, please,” He moved back from her. “Control yourself. No, I have no knowledge of them leaving. How come you ask?”

“Dr. Jekyll told me he and Dr. Lanyon would be in his office and I told them I would be bringing them cookies but when I went up they weren’t there and now I’m not sure if they’re playing some horrible trick on me or if they’ve been kidnapped or oh my god what if they’ve used science to shrink down and I accidentally stepped on them when I was in there looking for them and now they’re small as ants and also dead--”

“Miss Pidgley!” Daniel rose his voice, placing his hands onto her shoulders and silencing her ramble. “Please calm down, I’m sure that hasn’t happened.”

“But what if…” She began.

“Do not start.” Daniel smiled down at her. “We can tell the other servants to search for the doctors, okay? I’m sure they have not left this building, somebody would have seen them go, right?”

“Right…” She nodded logically. “Unless it is Mr. Hyde. Nobody can seem to keep track of him.”

Daniel looked thrown off then. “Ah, was Mr. Hyde with them? I didn’t see him.” Rachel waved her hands in front of her torso.

“Not at all, I was only thinking out loud. It was just Jekyll and Lanyon.” she said quickly, blinking quickly up at Daniel. The man sighed and squeezed her shoulders.

“We will search for them. Don’t worry, we will stay on the same page.” He assured her, leaning towards her just a little.

She decisively leaned back. “Thank you, Daniel.” He released her shoulders then, taking a step back and seeming to get the message she was sending.

“You are welcome.” He nodded to her and turned away, on his way now to inform the rest of the Society’s staff of the search for Henry Jekyll… And Robert Lanyon.

Rachel walked down the hall, peeking into each room distractedly to check the occupants. Many rooms were empty, and every few rooms she saw a small collection of Lodgers chittering with each other, still trying to help each other cope with the intense drama of the past couple of days. She wasn’t focused on their conversations, and made sure she was gone quick enough that nobody would try to invite her in. As soon as she ruled out Jekyll and Lanyon’s appearances, she moved to the next room.

A few empty rooms passed by, and she stumbled upon a closed door. One of a few so far, really, and she very silently opened up the door, peeping inside.

Rachel then quickly realized that Jasper was inside the room, this was his room! Her face coloured slightly as she watched him, sitting at a desk and scribbling furiously into a book.

In true lovestruck fashion, Rachel forgot completely what she was doing and stared at Jasper as he wrote. He had a firm expression of concentration on his face, eyebrows knit together and lips pressed together in a downward-angled line. His back was slightly hunched forward so as to lean over his notebook, which looked rather new so he must have completely filled his previous one, and his ankles were crossed almost daintily beneath his chair.

It wasn’t until Jasper flipped his page and his whole body moved from the action that Rachel snapped out of it, filled with embarrassment.

“Jasper.” She stated, her voice low.

Like a snapped rubber band, he snapped out of his concentrated and focused position, in favour of yelping and spinning on his chair so fast Rachel feared he’d fly off of it. He looked at her and put a hand over his heart, taking a deep breath.

“Rachel! Hello!” He greeted with a blossoming awkward grin. “Uh, ho-how are you?”

“I’m well.” She giggled, cracking a smile of her own. However, it dropped quickly when she remembered why on earth she was here. “Ahh, actually, maybe I’m not so well…”

Jasper’s smile dropped as well and he settled better in his seat, losing some tension. “What? Is something wrong?” He asked, then waved his hand. “I mean besides everything else that’s been happening. Seems like a lot of bad things are happening around here lately.” He spoke softly, in almost a self-reflective type of way.

“It’s actually something else entirely.” She explained, stepping further into the room. Why was she doing this, why was she choosing her CRUSH to elaborate upon? “Is there somewhere I can sit?”

“Oh! Yes!” Jasper sprung up from his seat and quickly cleared a spot on the end of his bed, then sat back in his chair. Then he stood up again. “Actually, you take the chair. It’s more comfortable.” He speedily sat down on his bed, looking at her. “So tell me what happened?”

Rachel had to hold in a giggle at his flustered nature, grounding herself as she strode over and sat in his chair. “After the big meeting this morning, Henry and Robert went to Henry’s office to talk.”

“Robert?” Jasper blinked.

“Oh, Dr. Lanyon.” She corrected. “Robert is his first name.”

“Oh!” Jasper blinked. “I didn’t know that. Anyway, go on?”

Rachel bit her lip to keep from smiling at him. “They went to Henry’s office, and I told them I’d be bringing cookies later. See, I made a whole bunch as sort of a recovery food for the Lodgers and… Anyway, Henry told me he would be in his office, even if Robert had to leave. But when I got there, neither of them were in there.”

Jasper looked a little alarmed now. “Not there? Did anyone see them go in?”

“Not that I know of,” Rachel shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned, I was the last to see them, and they were only walking in the direction of the office.”

“Have you checked every room of this place?” He asked, now trying his best to help the poor woman who was quickly gaining wrinkles. “Maybe they said office, but meant some other room.”

“That was actually what I was doing before I stopped here.” Rachel said sheepishly. “I just, I don’t know. I saw you and I wanted to tell you, because I trust you, and because you’re the first Lodger I’ve seen in my search so far that I feel like can really help me and not just yak about what’s going on.”

Jasper shrunk a little, meek. “Really?” He murmured.

“Yeah.” Rachel finally cracked a little smile for him, and they looked at each other for a lovesick moment.

Jasper soon cleared his throat. “Well uh, maybe if you look now, they’ll be in the office? Maybe they took a pit-stop someplace else before arriving at their destination.” He got back on task.

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know, I don’t think so anyway. I mean, I was making cookies for a LONG time, and if they’re still at some via point by now, then they will never make it to the office.”

“Well…” Jasper stood up, looking at the doorway. “Maybe we should go and check anyway. You never know.”

Rachel sighed. “I don’t know, Jasper.”

“If you don’t know, it’s all the better reason to go and look!” He exclaimed, looking down at her and offering his hand for her to stand up with.

She stared at it a moment, and he was about to retract it awkwardly before she reached out and held his hand, and pulled herself into a stand.

“Okay. Let’s go look.” She said, and kept a grip on Jasper’s soft hand as he walked them out of his room and down the hallway, back to the office.

Only to spot a suspicious, tall figure walking ahead of them.

Rachel frowned. “Excuse me?”

The figure stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at the two shorter people. He then smiled sweetly.

“Why hello!” He greeted, turning to face them and effectively stopping them in their path as well. “Forgive me, I have only been here a handful of times. I’ve forgotten where Dr. Jekyll’s office is.”

Rachel tensed up. “I’m sorry but Dr. Jekyll isn’t in right now. Even if I took you to his office, you wouldn’t find him there.”

The man tilted his head, and his lips and eyes frowned expressively. “Perhaps Mr. Hyde is in then? May I take a look for myself?”

“Uh--” Rachel glanced to Jasper, who looked at her, and then suddenly remembered their held hands and released the hold with no subtlety, feeling queer around the stranger. “I suppose we can take you there, yes. You were already on your way, so follow us.”

“Oh, thank you.” The man smiled once more, and allowed the two to pass him while he walked just behind them.

Their walk was quiet and a little empty, and about halfway to their destination Rachel decided to break the silence. “Sir, what is your name?” She asked.

“Good heavens, I’m sorry!” the man started, looking at her with a few blinks. “My name is Mr. Hastie Harris. I had interest in becoming a sponsor to your Society several weeks ago, and Dr. Jekyll and I have met here a few times after that.”

“Weeks ago?” Rachel squinted at him. “I’d think I’d have seen you since then, or at least brought you a refreshment during your visit.”

“Ah, I suppose we just missed each other.” Mr. Harris responded, with a more delicate smile. “This is a rather large building, is it not?” She supposed she could very well have missed him, as oddly imposing as his presence was.

Missed him just like she missed Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon…

Rachel shook her head, her hair bouncing a little. “Where did you and Dr. Jekyll meet?” She asked, forwardly.

“Rachel!” Jasper spoke up, and she looked at him only to find the thin man to be very tense. “Please don’t mind her, Mr. Harris.”

“Oh, not at all, I am happy to answer anything you have to ask.” He nodded as they stopped at the door to Dr. Jekyll’s office doors. “I met both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a meeting for sponsorship they held together. I don’t mind talking about it; I’m sure your guard must be especially up, considering what’s happened here as of late.”

Rachel’s heart lurched in suspicion and she opened up the office doors. “Here, you can see they are not in here. If you’d like to leave a letter or a note, feel free.” She then diverted her gaze to the floor, as Mr. Harris and Jasper stepped inside to investigate… Well, Mr. Harris actually looked around for the Doctors, but Jasper just gazed into the cabinets full of Dr. Jekyll’s old lab equipment.

Mr. Harris frowned. “My, my. It looks as if nothing is amiss in here!” He stepped into the room. “Are they perhaps invisible, somehow? Have they managed to shrink down in size and we now cannot hear their tiny voices?”

Rachel’s face twitched.

“And, goodness, what is this on the desk…?” Mr. Harris went on, and Rachel whipped her head up. “It appears to be some sort of ransom note!” She marched up to the desk, peering around Mr. Harris to see the note.

“Let me read it!” she snatched it from his hands, and then looked up to see his shocked expression. She felt a little meek now, also feeling Jasper’s surprised gaze burning into the back of her head. “I’m, um. Sorry. I’m only a little anxious, see.”

“Not at all, I completely understand.” He offered another of those warm smiles, and she gave him a polite smile in exchange before looking down at the note.

“To whom it may concern, ho-hum, Dr. Jekyll under my protection, hmm, signed… H.H.” She frowned deeply. “We ought to take this to the police.”

“I think, perhaps, it may be a challenge.” Mr. Harris spoke up, in an implicit tone. “I know you lot have been known to raise hell in stressful situations.”

Rachel froze up, and gripped the paper tight in her hands. She barely heard poor Jasper utter an “oh no” before she stepped chin-to-chest with Mr. Harris, staring freshly sharpened daggers up into his eyes.

“What the bloody hell is that s’posed to mean?!” She asked loudly. “What do you know? You’re just a stranger! What would you know about how we act in times such as these?!”

“Rachel, please! Rachel!” Jasper gasped, stepping up to the pair and gently grasping onto Rachel’s shoulders and pulling her back from the tall man. She snarled a little, although not at the boy behind her.

“If you think we’re so good at raising hell, you’d best be on your way before we rain hell down upon you, Mr. Harris.” Rachel growled up at the astonished individual above her.

“O-of course. I apologize for disturbing you, I hope you may find your founders soon.” She swore she saw something familiar in his expression, something distinctly posh. “Good day.”

Mr. Harris turned on his heel and exited Dr. Jekyll’s office. As soon as he left far enough down the hallway, she walked out from under Jasper’s hands and closed the doors to his office.

She strode back to Jekyll’s desk and stared at the plate of cookies she’d rested on his desk earlier in the day, then down at the note, half-crumpled in her hands.

OoOoO

“Rachel, where do we go from here?”

“He took one of my cookies.”

“What? … Ah, right! Your cookies!”

“I believe, actually, he might have taken two.”

“Oh, oh no.”

“Also, Mr. Hastie Harris, Mr. ‘H.H.’, is our kidnapper.”

“OH, NO.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was SO HARD cuz i'm used to writing from Jekyll and Hyde's perspective, but it was a good exercise! I did my best to write how i thought rachel would think; kind of all over the place but knows how to get a job done!
> 
> i've also been waiting for this chapter for quite some time cuz i wanted to introduce you all to rachel hehe she needs more screen time tbh and i miss her
> 
> also!!! since beginning this fic, my rp partner maxwell and I havent had a last name for hastie cuz we just didnt know what to make it, and we waited because we wanted it to be meaningful. we finally decided, quite recently, that hastie named himself when he went out to his first brothel, and he just copied the same last name as the first whore he met there ;)))
> 
> hope you all enjoyed!!! this fanfic is slowly closing up at this point and we're nearing the climax, leave me ur predictions for what u think is happening to dr jekyll and mr hyde right now!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde find themselves captive, and Mr. Hastie goes on an expository monologue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im back dont be mad hav a dramatic and highly tense chapter to make up for my missing another week <3

Henry slowly awoke in a state of complete stiffness. His body felt twisted, perhaps he fell asleep at his desk again? But it didn’t feel like that, his neck was possibly even more stiff, and his legs were laid out in front of him from what he could feel; his chair was not that big.

With abruptness, the events of yesterday (or perhaps it was only hours ago) came back to him and he jerked out of his stiff position. His pain was forgotten as his wide eyes scanned his surroundings; it looked to be an average wine cellar, stocked well and tidy, although the minor detail of chains installed in the wall and cuffs connecting Henry’s wrists to each of the two chains did draw back from the professionalism of the cellar.

Henry took yet another moment to re-think the detail of his wrists bound, and tried to pull them away from the wall. The chains were heavy and kept his wrists from moving further than maybe four feet from the wall. He tried to pull them again but only managed to dig the metal cuff into his skin, making him yelp.

He started hyperventilating not soon after that. “Edward?? Edward where are we?! Edward!!” He struggled more, his heart pounding in his chest.

‘Calm down! Henry!’ Edward’s voice came up over his cries, and he quieted with a few pants and whimpers. ‘I don’t know where we are but if I had to guess, we’re in Lanyon’s house.’

“Wha, why would, what??” He looked around some more, as Edward appeared around him as green smoke. “This doesn’t look… This could be Hastie’s house.” He sounded a bit groggy now that he was having a moment to recover from his trauma-induced sleep. Edward made a noise of realization.

‘This is Lanyon’s fucking wine cellar!’ Edward hissed. ‘Are you that disoriented from MY hit in the head that you’ve forgotten what your lover’s wine cellar looks like?!’

“He is not my lover.” Henry sobered quickly, straightening up and looking at the swirling amalgam of green smoke before him, expecting at any moment for it to become Edward Hyde.

“Is he not?” Came a curious voice from beyond the smoke.

The hallucination suddenly exploded as if it were a firework, and there was a cry of shock from Edward as Henry’s eyes trailed up through the disappearing smoke to see their kidnapper in all his glory, standing in the doorway.

“See, that must be where I had it backwards!” Hastie’s eyes were wide and innocent as he strode forward, speaking with his hands. “I believed you and Dr. Lanyon may have had common feelings for one another! My mistake.”

‘Don’t FUCKING TOUCH ME!’ Edward screamed, and Henry saw him appear around Hastie’s shoulders, claws dug into the tall man’s shoulders and demonic face baring sharp teeth from over his shoulder, right in his face.

Of course, Hastie neither saw nor heard any of the threat.

“HELP!!” Henry shrieked, head thrown back so he could yell at the ceiling of the room. “HELP ME, I’VE BEEN KIDNAPPED! SOMEBODY!!”

As Henry screamed, Hastie merely walked to Henry’s right and grabbed a bar stool that Hastie must have brought down here for confrontational purposes, and he pulled it a few feet in front of Henry and took his seat upon it.

“There really is no use in screaming like that,” Hastie cooed, almost in an affectionate manner. “I advise that you save your voice.” He gazed down at Henry from his perch, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Hastie was terrifying. Hastie could do anything he wanted in their positions. Hastie was in power. Hastie had dealt Henry the shittiest hand ever.

Hastie looked a lot like Robert Lanyon from this angle.

The thought caused Henry to jerk backwards away from the scary man in front of him and knock his head against the wall behind him. His hair lengthened and his body became too petite for its’ clothing.

With new vigor, Edward thrashed against his heavy restraints.

“LET ME GO, LET ME FUCKING GO HASTIE!” Edward yelled, banging his fists on the wall and his legs on the floor as he struggled. “LET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!”

“Oh, my dear Eddie,” Hastie cooed in a moment of quiet, interrupted by Edward’s enraged scream and a ‘Don’t call me Eddie’ from the smaller man. “My darling, sweet Eddie, you don’t know how badly I wish I could do that for you.”

“And why can’t you?!” Edward snarled, voice already a little hoarse. “Why can’t you let me go?! Did you think KIDNAPPING ME would make me cooperate?! WELL YOU’RE DEAD WRONG HASTIE! YOU’RE DEAD WRONG! YOU’RE D E A D !”

Hastie only watched with a miserable expression now as Edward exhausted himself rather quickly, and almost five minutes and a lot of screaming and thrashing around later, his demeanor snapped into a submissive one and he began to cry. His body transformed back into that of his counterpart, and Hastie squared up with a more firm expression.

“Dr. Jekyll.” He cleared his throat. “You will see as time goes on, I had no choice but to do this to you and Edward.” He stood from the stool in order to crouch in front of the man, close enough now that Edward could probably bite off his nose. “In your office, that was my last attempt to get you two to join me peacefully.”

“Jo-join, join you, i-in…” Henry stammered around hiccups, looking pathetically at Hastie.

“I wasn’t able to tell you.” The large man frowned. “I tried to get romantically close to Edward, and found myself soft for him as he was for me. It was perfect, except for your and Robert’s suspicions.” Hastie now bothered to actually sit on the ground, legs crossed and hands on his knees as he kept his eyes on Henry. “Which is when I tried to stage a romantic bond between you two, to fully gain your trust! I should have foreseen that Edward would see directly through me as he did, and called out my imitation of your beloved Dr. Lanyon.”

Henry shuddered rather violently at the mention of the man he thought he loved.

“It’s not a problem for now, however,” Hastie spoke a little louder, becoming enthusiastic. “For you see, we would have reached this same result if you had complied with me then, only it would be sooner and with your consent!”

“You could have-ave been clear fro-om the start, wha-what do you even, what do you want?” Henry gasped and sobbed a little around his words, trying to speak clearly and slowly. Hastie seemed patient enough at this point.

“Why, Henry,” Hastie broke out into his disgustingly darling smile. “I can tell you in full detail now, seeing as you will never be leaving!”

Henry once again shuddered at the man’s words.

“Edward and I shared, or perhaps still share, a common goal,” He began. “And maybe Robert and yourself would like to see this goal through. We are sick of being your shadows, being attached to you in every conceivable way, and we would much appreciate being free of your suffocating posh lifestyles.”

“Edward…” Henry whimpered quietly. Edward did not respond.

“We want our freedom from you,” Hastie continued. “But we may never get it the way we’ve been going at it. You cannot keep letting us out a few times a week like pet dogs forever! We want our own vessels!”

‘You could have started with Dr. Frankenstein.’ Edward suddenly mumbled. Henry struggled not to snort out a laugh despite their circumstances.

“And so we needed test subjects.” Ignorant to the sideshow, Hastie went on. “We collected various people off the streets, and visited the Blackfog Bazaar as soon as it landed here to collect our desired materials.” He finally tore his gaze from Henry’s teary and red face, looking off to the side in an oddly dreamlike manner. “Several potions and books were needed, as well as all kinds of odd ingredients and bottled spirits. All I really needed was to infuse my own transformation formula with whatever DNA or affliction I wanted my subjects to have.”

“You’re mad.” Henry cut Hastie short. “You’re completely and utterly mad!”

“Am I the only one?” Hastie blinked, looking back down at Henry.

“Hyde and I should have outed you weeks ago!” Henry threatened, which seemed to come as a surprise to Hastie.

“Ah, even if it meant to expose Robert?”

“Even if it meant I would never see Robert Lanyon again.” Henry didn’t hesitate, his voice hoarse and low as he glared with wet and teary eyes at his kidnapper.

“You would give up the man you love.” He shook his head slowly. “The man who loves you.” He grinned. “Have you not thought that I would expose you right back, dear?”

“Robert wouldn’t ever let you!” Henry hissed, beginning to struggle again. “If he really loves me like you say, he would never let you do that!”

“He is too weak to my control to ever overcome me enough not to expose you.” He said with confidence. “An eye for an eye, Dr. Henry Jekyll.”

“Even so, they’d never believe a lunatic like you.” Henry scowled, pulling his restraints taut to try to get to Hastie. “They would NEVER LISTEN TO YOU, HASTIE!!” Edward screamed, as his body caught up with his switch in character. The older man quickly scrambled away and stood up, leaning back on his stool.

“That’s what you think, Edward!” Hastie cried, sitting back on his stool. “You don’t know exactly what is going to happen! Hell, you don’t know anything!”

“I know that you’re the absolute WORST thing to ever happen to us!” Edward yelled, his abused voice cracking. “I fucking HATE YOU!”

Edward was rewarded with a flinch from Hastie, who then narrowed his eyes and slipped down from his stool once more, sitting just out of reach of Edward.

“You do not hate me.” He said evenly, trying to maintain a serious expression.

“I do hate you!” Edward growled childishly. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” He began to chant, his voice growing louder as he eventually screamed the horrible phrase, trying to pull his wrists forward so he could attack Hastie.

The older man snarled in rage and reached up with his own perfectly free hand, grabbing Edward’s jaw tight and pausing his tirade. Edward froze and his eyes widened in horror as Hastie lunged forward and pressed his lips to Edward’s, rather hard.

The smaller shrieked and now reversed his goals, trying to fuse with the wall as Henry had tried to earlier, but Hastie did not let him go. He crawled forward on top of Edward’s small body with a loud growl and kept his hand tightly gripping the blond’s jaw. He kissed Edward harshly several more times, as Edward tried to turn his head away or scream or bite his attacker.

In a fit of panic, Edward realized he was slowly transforming back into Henry, he couldn’t let that happen, he refused to let his Henry be assaulted again by this maniac, he would NOT allow Henry to be hurt again--

Hastie seemed to realize too what was happening, and pulled back when he felt the body beneath him start to change. Edward’s breath quickened and he stared up at Hastie as he struggled and willed himself to remain as himself, to remain as Edward Hyde and protect Henry Jekyll, protect him because he was the one who needed it right now, Henry was the one who hurt more…

“I-I’m… I’m sorry,” Came an abruptly upset tone of voice. “I’m sorry, no, don’t cry!” Edward saw Hastie’s large hand come towards him. “Please, don’t!”

Edward screamed and flung himself away from the hand so hard he smashed his skull against the wall behind him. The ringing in his ears and absolute throb in the back of his head easily overwhelmed him and he once again almost threw Henry into this mess, and with a cry he forced himself to maintain his body and his mind. His extreme and epic conflict almost made him miss the next words out of his assaulter’s mouth.

“Eddie! Are you--I mean, I, you’re hurt, I...” Came a babbling, panicked voice. “Oh, god, you’re not okay.”

Edward sobbed and choked, as somewhat of a seizure took over his mind and body and he began to mumble words only he understood at that moment, and madly, he responded in the same gibberish, to himself, alone in the world.

The mixed man completely missed Dr. Lanyon exiting the room, in the middle of his own crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm
> 
> gosh i really dont know what to say! a lot of this is probably very messy because i realized that since this story is mostly all from jekyll/hyde's perspective, we never got hastie's motivation clear, cuz we never went to his perspective! i did that intentionally so that we could figure out what he was planning together WITH jekyll/hyde, but i figured it was finally time to make a CLEAR (or relatively so, at least) statement as to what exactly hastie's motivation has been this whole time!
> 
> i hope this was a good and emotional and horrible chapter, see u guys next week hopefully now that halloween is over and im less busy! <3


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Pidgley and Mr. Kaylock put forth a plan to track down Mr. Harris, meanwhile Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde brainstorm ways to escape their confines.

“I’m not sure I can go with you, Rachel.” Jasper said meekly, after having moved from the office to the kitchen. “I really am not cut out for things like that. I’m awkward and inexperienced, and what if I transform and I get big and even more awkward and clumsier than I already am?”

Rachel couldn’t help a small laugh. “You will be just fine, Mr. Kaylock! Believe me, this won’t be some big grand mission. We just need enough Lodgers to be on Dr. Lanyon’s porch step that he feels compelled enough to turn on his ‘associate’ Mr. Harris, and help us track him down so we may find Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!”

“You don’t understand, Rachel!” Jasper sighed. “I just don’t think some new person like me is important enough to compel Dr. Lanyon to do anything.”

“Oh--okay, alright, if you truly don’t feel comfortable coming along, I won’t sit here and try to force you.” Rachel sighed in apparent defeat, and began for the door to the hall. “I’ll be speaking with Mrs. Cantilupe if you need me.”

The cook wasn’t even halfway to Cantilupe’s room before she heard footsteps trotting after her, and her crush’s voice calling a desperate ‘wait up!’ after her. She couldn’t help her giant grin.

OoOoO

It took a rather lengthy amount of time for Henry and Edward’s period of trauma-induced panic to end. By that ending, it was only Henry Jekyll laying on the floor against the wall, allowing his body to hang mostly limp aside from his mostly straight back. His neck was craned down, eyes closed, breathing steady, as he appeared to accept his fate and wait patiently for Hastie to return.

Jekyll was presently listening to Hyde’s mad plans to escape this place, utilizing his typical coping strategy of thinking himself larger than his opponent and merely believing he could get out of this by sheer force of will.

‘Maybe I can just roundhouse him,’ Hyde suggested, floating around the room above Jekyll as he spoke. ‘Do you think you can lift your leg and pelvis enough to get his crotch? Or rather, maybe I should just try to front and do it.’

“No, Hyde.” Henry mumbled softly in response, just as he had with all the previous ones.

‘Okay, then what about,’ Hyde speedily moved along. ‘I pretend he was right all along and sex him into releasing me! THEN I can roundhouse him, and maybe use that chains-around-the-neck method I discussed earlier--’

“Outlandish. No.” Jekyll said wearily. Hyde stammered for a moment.

‘Do you think you could break your wrist to get out of those cuffs?’ Hyde suddenly suggested. Jekyll tensed. This was somehow the first suggestion, of dozens and dozens, that involved injuring himself.

“... Edward,” Jekyll said patiently, raising his head to look up at the misty form of his alter ego. “That would injure you as well.”

‘I would be fine!’ He insisted. ‘I would just do what Hastie did when I broke his nose, I’d hide inside until you healed up!’

“With our present unpredictable transformation cycle?” Jekyll pointed out, raising a brow and pursing his lips when Hyde faltered once more. “It will not work, Hyde, I will not be hurting myself to escape this place.”

‘But--but what if that is our only chance?!’ Hyde suddenly cried, swooping down to nestle right between Jekyll’s parted knees. ‘You have to admit, that might be the only feasible way out of this place, at least of the ways out that I alone could think of!’

OoOoO

“... So we are asking you, and a few other Lodgers, to come with us to Dr. Lanyon’s home,” Rachel explained, Jasper standing dutifully at her side. “So that we may confront him about this letter and about Mr. Hastie Harris. We are coming to you first, and then we’ll be visiting Dr. Maijabi and a few others to propose this plan. We won’t leave until we have at least, let’s say, six of us.”

As Rachel had explained, the woman in front of her had gradually filled with more and more excitement, more life than either Rachel or Jasper had seen in her for weeks, and as soon as Rachel had finished explaining their plan, she had leapt from her bed.

“Well then what the FUCK are we WAITING FOR?!” Cantilupe pretty much leapt out the door, already calling for Dr. Maijabi, and while Jasper could only say ‘oh dear’ and follow and fret, Rachel barked out in gleeful laughter, thrilled that she was getting somewhere with her rescue plan.

OoOoO

“Edward Hyde, it is best right now for us to conserve our energy and just sit here like the LITERAL slaves that we are!” Jekyll barked, leaning away from the wall. Hyde, startled, floated backwards away from the angry man.

‘Buh-but--Henry!’ Hyde cried, speaking with his hands now. ‘Don’t you want out of here?! We can tell the police, we can out Hastie and get him arrested!’

“That would put Robert in jeopardy!” Jekyll cried in return, bringing his knees together and down onto the floor so he could sit on his calves, leaning further towards Hyde, who came closer once more as fury seethed around him.

‘You said you didn’t give a shit what happened to Robert!’ Hyde nearly yelled.

“I WAS LYING!” Jekyll screamed, tears suddenly spilling from his eyes as his lower lip split.

Edward went quiet and his mouth hung open with a vicious response, but for once he thought before he spoke and considered Henry Jekyll’s devastation, his red face and the blood dripping down his chin and the grime covering the typically well-dressed, well-looked after man making it painfully clear that Henry was… Henry was not himself. In fact, Edward recalled a few nights in his early existence that left him looking similar to the weary man in front of him, back before he knew his boundaries, back when he listened to Henry a little less, back when he had fewer cares in the world.

Dr. Henry Jekyll was not suited for this look. Not at all.

In reflection of their turmoil, Edward’s usually vibrant and formerly angry bright colours had sullied and become dull. His features, which had only just begun to look monstrous, reeled right back in and he looked more human than he’d ever looked in his misty form.

Through their transparent emotional connection, Edward felt his own tears bubbling up just looking at Henry for this long. It had to have been a full minute before he spoke again. ‘Henry?’

Henry only hummed softly in acknowledgement, eyes trained on Edward’s face as well as Edward’s were trained on his own face. For another minute, all was quiet except for the occasional hiccup of sniffle.

‘... Sorry for getting us into this shit.’ Edward nearly whispered, his very rare apology made even more rare and sincere by his hand coming up to swipe across his eyes.

“Oh…” Henry blinked a few times, and became quickly saddened by the sight of Edward holding in a sob at the sound of his voice. “Oh, Edward, no. Don’t apologize for this…”

‘It’s on me.’ Edward continued, shaking his head and keeping his hand over his eyes as his head remained down. ‘This all is. If I hadn’t met with Hastie, if I, hadn’t brought him, to the Society, Lavender…!’

“Edward, stop…” Henry tried to be soothing, wilting a bit. “You are not the one who did this to us. That is on Hastie.”

‘You must know me well enough by now,’ Edward couldn’t help a snort of laughter, lifting his reddened eyes to look at Henry as his tears ethereally floated off of his face and disappeared. ‘That I will never accept that.’

Henry did his best to crack a smile back. “I know. I can still try, though.”

OoOoO

“And you are asking a blind old man to help you, why?” Maijabi asked, raising a brow.

“You are a valuable Lodger to this Society, and you have been here for quite some time,” Rachel said softly, as Jasper and Cantilupe spoke amongst themselves in the background. Well, Cantilupe spoke, Jasper for the most part just nodded and smiled.

“Ahhh, so that’s it,” Maijabi leaned back, then leaned back forward, grinning. “You want to get him with one of the first faces Jekyll welcomed in here!”

“I suppose that is it, yes!” Rachel clapped her hands together. “And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to play up the fact that you are one of the first to take up residence here, and that you care about Jekyll quite a bit.”

“Oh, fine, I’m in! What the hell!” Maijabi stepped forward and reached his hand out, which Rachel graciously accepted with a flutter in her stomach. This was really happening. They were going to save Henry and Edward!

OoOoO

To say that the cellar door opening didn’t scare the two men to death and then back to life would have been a grave, grave understatement.

“You can still try what, Dr. Jekyll?” Hastie’s deep voice rumbled through the room, anger thick in his voice. Edward dissipated immediately with a deep growl, which Henry knew wasn’t for him.

Henry spoke not a word, only lowered his head. There were many moments where all he heard was his loud heartbeat and ragged post-cry breathing.

Hastie cleared his throat as he stepped further into the room. “How are you, Doctor?”

Henry bit his tongue and remained mute, allowing his only movement to be his body’s natural movements as he breathed.

‘Henry now’s my chance,’ Edward mumbled, his voice echoing in Henry’s ears. ‘Let me front. I can totally kick him from here, I can do it! And once he’s down maybe I can headbutt him, or somehow hit a pressure point and make him pass the fuck out, then I’ll merely break my wrists and ankles and we’ll be free!’

“God--would you SHUT UP?!” Hastie abruptly screeched, slamming his hand into the wall beside him. Henry yelped as the wine bottles in the room trembled along with his body, and his already loud heartbeat thudded even louder somehow in his ears.

Hastie cleared his throat once more and brushed his hair from his face. “Now that I have your attention,” He mumbled, noting Henry’s eyes locked onto his face. “I ask again, how are you?”

Henry opened his mouth. “Ah--” But closed it again. “Mm…” He looked away once more, remembering firmly his own rule of not speaking to this man, conserving his energy.

Unfortunately, it completely surprised him when Hastie rushed forward and got to his knees where Edward had been minutes ago, reaching out to grab Henry’s face. “You are to ANSWER when you are spoken to!” He barked, his large hand holding his jaw painfully tight.

Henry squealed and instinctively tried to move away, the stimulation too much for him, especially after the last time he’d touched this particular individual. He tried to move back and press himself against the wall, but it only lead Hastie with him, and the larger man ended up straddling the man beneath him as he hovered above, intimidating and threatening.

Somewhere along the way, as well, Henry had turned into Edward. Neither man noticed, until Hastie suddenly broke into a mad smile.

“Why hello, Eddie!” Hastie cooed, his hand moving to cup the smaller man’s face. “You are looking simply horrid at the moment, my love.”

Edward blinked and seemed to realize that he was… Edward, and perked up with a snarl, spitting at Hastie in an attempt to make him back off. Perhaps Robert would be so germaphobic as to…

Hastie did not move, he did not even flinch. He just kept the smile up, looking at Edward with some kind of look.

“You really do think you are bigger than I!” He barked out a laugh, bringing his other hand forward to hold Edward’s face between both hands, rubbing his thumbs across the blond’s cheeks to swipe up some tears.

Edward could have bitten him, could have kneed up into Hastie’s crotch, could have barked a hundred insults or pleaded for his life, could have tried to swallow his own tongue and suffocate before Hastie even had the chance to demolish his and Henry’s mind further…

“You’re weak.” Hastie’s sickly sweet smile became this twisted wide smirk, and he released Edward’s face to reach into a pocket on the inside of his suit jacket. “I have been saving the formulas most likely to work for you, darling!” He withdrew his hand, now equipped with a needle.

Edward paled. “No.” He shook his head and moved back so abruptly he smacked the back of his head against the hard wall, but the pain didn’t bother him. “No! No, NO NO NO!!”

All guns were now blazing; his legs were kicking but Hastie swiftly lowered himself so he was seated on Edward’s thighs, preventing any kind of movement. His arms were thrashing but Hastie quickly reached up with his free hand to grab both wrists and pin them above him. His head was moving side to side but as soon as Hastie did something about his arms, his head was locked in place by his own upper arms. His voice was the only thing he still had total power over, and he screamed and screamed and screamed, he could feel his voice getting raw already.

Hastie had his opportunity now, and he took it swiftly, to inject his formula into Edward’s blood stream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um whoops i'm a day late
> 
> but oh well here's that chapter!!! i've decided that instead of going into detail here about what the formulas Hastie will test on Jekyll & Hyde will do to them, I'm gonna make a short drabble series, each chapter detailing what happens to the boys in each experiment!
> 
> so yup next chapter will prolly just be rachel and the gang heading out to do target practice with lanyon's heart when they ask where the fuck hastie is :')
> 
> if u have comments/questions or i messed up real bad somewhere, you just let me know in the comments !! <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Hyde takes the fall for Dr. Jekyll, but neither man expected to see Dr. Lanyon again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhey so i know i said i was gonna write a series of ficlets about the torture edward and henry go thru in their captivity, but i found that drawing was gonna be a better exercise for me, so i did a series of digital drawings of jekyll & hyde being totally destroyed by hastie's experimental formulas
> 
> you can find them on my tumblr (meefling) under the 'torture porn' tag :') it was the best thing i could think of to describe what i was drawing
> 
> those drawings are canon to this story, and happened between the last chapter and this one, so go give those a peek before starting! <3

Henry typically had trouble recovering from these experiments. After each, he was given several hours to deal with his new condition, before either side-effects wore off and he was left back to ‘normal’, or until he was completely transformed into something horrific. One such experiment, one of the first he was put through, Hyde was left looking like freshly cooled magma, after the injection he’d gotten had melted his flesh halfway off his bones. It was a miracle his vital systems and organs didn’t melt so badly he died in the process.

After a period of time that felt like at least a week, Hastie had come to Hyde with another formula, one that would return him to normal. This one was to be drank, not injected, and it was clear once the man tasted the formula that it was his own formula. How Hastie had gotten ahold of it, neither Jekyll or Hyde knew.

In the silence of the aftermath, both men mourned the ultimate restarting of their abstinence experiment, if they even had a chance to formally restart the experiment once they got out of here.

If they even got out of here at all…

Even though Hastie had gotten close this time, his experiment fell through as soon as Hyde had recovered enough to reach out and cup Jekyll’s face in his hands, his real, tangible hands… For he could not pull away from the brunette. His hands had melded themselves to Jekyll’s cheeks, and he could not pull away, only push closer, fusing their bodies once more. Hastie was forced to cut apart Jekyll’s clothing to allow for more surface area so that Hyde would not absorb solely through the one point of contact, risking Jekyll’s suffocation.

The entire thing HAD looked hopeful, until the major trauma.

And like most major traumas of the past few weeks (or had it only been a few days?), it had left Jekyll and Hyde absolutely drained, and it wasn’t long before a weary Dr. Jekyll was down for the count.

By the time he woke up, he was even more stiff and sore than he ever remembered being. He had no feeling in his upper arms and had to force himself to stand up with equally as asleep legs to allow his arms to rest more at his sides than above his head. He shook his hands a bit at his sides as they regained feeling, and drowsily looked around the room, as if he hadn’t studied the entire place and memorized the labels of every wine bottle he shared captivity with.

“Edward.” He mumbled, looking pointedly in front of himself at roughly where he predicted Edward’s head would be when he appeared.  
Edward did appear after a moment and in a small mix of green and white smoke. He looked just as bad, if not a little worse, than Henry did; they were dirty, their body reeked of sweat and blood and other unsavoury smells, their skin and hair was oily and greasy and yuck. Their wrists were red and raw from how much of a fight they’d been putting up, including all of the painful writhing they’d involuntarily had in reaction to their experiments.

They had lost their shoes early on in their captivity, and their bare feet were scratched and filthy from the cellar floor, however Edward was standing nude, with all of his poor sensitive skin exposed for Henry to see his injuries and filth. His skin constantly felt tight, he was dehydrated and half-starved, and his many transformations and physical trauma had left him with a new amount of marks and scars, exaggerated on Edward’s phantom form, not to mention the injection sites all across their right arm.

Henry’s heart crumbled a bit to see himself, Edward, in such rough shape. “We’re never getting out.”

Edward frowned deeply, shoulders falling. ‘That does not benefit us. I still think we can get out.’

“Look at us, Edward.” Henry slowly stopped his wagging hands, as the numbness faded away. “We’re in the worst shape we’ve ever been in. Maybe… Maybe if we just do what we want instead of protesting every time…”

‘No, Henry!’ Edward came closer, looking up at the taller of the pair. ‘If we give up, he won! Do you want that?’

“No, but I don’t exactly have another choice, do I?” Henry scowled a bit, lowering his head.

‘Hey, no, shut up!’ Edward snapped his fingers down in front of Henry’s face, making him blink a little and look back at Edward’s face. ‘We’re getting out of here!’

“We’ve been here for weeks…” Henry leaned his back against the wall behind him.

‘We’ve been here for a few days, Henry.’ Edward groaned.

“Well it feels like weeks!” Henry snapped at Edward, causing the smaller to flinch and take a step back. Henry’s skin prickled with goosebumps. “I-I’m sorry.”

Edward took a moment to change his body language from frightened to more neutral. ‘You’re not, but that’s okay. You can give up if you want, but I’m not going to be doing that.’

Henry wilted back down against the wall to sit on his calves. “Edward it’s the safest option, please, if you don’t give up, he’ll just…”

‘If I give up, you and I will die pathetic.’ Edward said through grit teeth. ‘I want us to die with more tact than that. I want us to die knowing we don’t deserve this.’

“So you think we are going to die…” Henry chuckled. “Unusually grim for you, Edward…”

‘I’m only saying, if we don’t survive this…’ Edward shook his head. ‘I want to survive this. Let me take the next punishment.’

“Experiment.” Henry corrected.

‘Punishment.’ Edward insisted, with a scowl. Henry sighed and nodded slowly.

“Punishment…” He repeated. “You can take it if that’s what you really want.”

With that, the dirty apparition dissipated before the Doctor, and Henry Jekyll transformed into Edward Hyde, easily now that they’d had lots of time to practice, and waited for their captor to deliver the next blow to their body and mind.

A period of time in silence passed, filled just with Edward’s soft breaths, occasional jangling of his chains, and the gurgling of his empty stomach, before Edward heard faintly approaching footsteps and the door to their prison was unlocked and swung open.

Standing before him now was Hastie Harris, looking as deceptively peaceful and calm as he always bloody did, carrying a small bag which Edward could only assume contained the injection needle and bottle of liquid needed for today’s experiment.

As always, Hastie looked absolutely delighted to see Edward.

“Hello, my darling Eddie,” He cooed as he brought the bag to the small table he’d brought down after their first experiment together.

“Fuck off, my darling Hastie,” Edward replied snarkily, to which Hastie only pouted down at the man sitting up against the wall.

“Well, if you’d LIKE me to fuck you…” Hastie said, and at Edward’s spit in his direction, he laughed. “Maybe next time then, my love!”

Edward hissed as Hastie prepared his injection needle, sucking up some of the stuff inside his bottle, and tapping it as he stared down at Edward with borderline hungry eyes.

And speaking of hungry, Edward’s stomach chose then to make a gurgling sound so loud it made Hastie stop his tapping of the needle.

He frowned and lowered his hands. “Edward, have you been eating?”

Edward felt his eyelid twitch. “I haven’t been, you fucking know why, you piece of shit! Get me something to eat or I’ll die of starvation before I die at the end of any experiment you could ever pull!”

Hastie sighed and looked at the needle, making sure it was free of bubbles and ready to go, before he stepped closer to Edward and crouched down. He ignored Edward’s angry kick to his shin, and ignored the second one too, and reached to grab onto Edward’s arm, pulling it towards himself. He aimed the needle at the proper vein and was about to push it in, before he suddenly locked up, with a small gasp.

Edward watched his eyes widen and his hands release Edward’s arm, watched as the man before him examined his hands and the needle he held.

“I…” He looked at Edward with shocked brown eyes. Edward jolted.

“Holy fuckin’--Look who it finally is!” He rose his voice, eyes tearing up a bit, he blamed Henry. “Come to finally save us, Robert?!”

“I-I’m sorry, I, ah!” He stumbled up to his feet as he transformed, wincing and sucking in a breath at the pain. He now held the needle like it was some dirty rag, placing it on the table and jerking away from it once it was out of his hand.

“What took you so long?!” Edward continued. “We’ve been here for days, maybe WEEKS, we wouldn’t know because our concept of time is DESTROYED now, and we haven’t had a decent fucking meal in fuck knows how long! We haven’t bathed so we smell like absolute SHITE, and we’re wearing the same clothes we wore on the day of our kidnapping! We wake up every morning with numbness in our arms and legs because this is a HORRIBLE place to sleep, and--”

“Edward stop!” He cried, as he tried to roll his pants up so he wouldn’t be tripping all over. “I hear you, this is the first time I’ve had complete control in at least a week, please let me collect myself before I get you something to eat!”

“Oh, YEAH, because YOU need time to collect yourself!” Edward snarled, pushing himself up into a stand and trying to come at Robert, the chains around his wrists stopping him about a foot from the taller man. Robert yelped and stumbled backwards, falling a bit against the now-closed door to the wine cellar.

“Y-yes, yes, I’m sorry, I will be right back!” Robert took a deep breath as he groped for the doorknob, unable to look away from the pissed off Scot in front of him. “I’m going to ah, see if I can’t also get you a change of clothes, maybe a wash basin, we can clean you up--”

“I’M HUNGRY!” Edward screamed, pulling again at his chains. Robert squealed and finally got the door open, looking rather terrified as he scrambled out of the room and shut the door, although the door did not click to signify it locking like it usually did when Hastie left them.

Edward, now that he was alone, stepped backwards to rest against the wall again, panting and pushing the metal cuffs up from his wrists so he could rub the sore skin, looking down at the raw flesh.

The room was silent, neither Henry nor Edward wanted to talk about what just happened, and Robert came back in no time at all. Edward knew he was coming due to his hurried footsteps and a faint panting sound.

The door was pushed open by Robert’s shoulder and half of his back as he re-entered, carrying a tray of food on one hand (Edward tried to remember if Robert had ever waited tables, before remembering the man was fucking loaded), and a bucket of foamy water in the other hand. Edward watched the man struggle with the heavy bucket and balancing the tray of food, constantly looking between his two hands to make sure nothing spilled or fell off.

Robert staggered to the table to put the bucket down and wheezed, still breathing heavily and red-faced a little as he adjusted the tray balanced on his palm to hold with both hands, confident now that he wasn’t going to drop any of the items upon the literal silver platter.

He walked over to Edward, who was still watching him with the most irate expression Robert had ever seen in his life.

“What did you bring me, rich man?” Edward mocked, as he allowed himself to sit back down on the floor. This forced Robert to follow, crouching down and seating himself cross-legged in front of Edward.

“I have some bread from breakfast this morning,” He said with a shaky voice, allowing himself to breathe a little. “And I brought down the jar of jam we have as well, if you want something sweet on it. I uh, brought you a glass of water as well, and the cup of pudding Hastie didn’t eat this morning.”

Edward rose his brow at that last thing. “Hastie didn’t…?”

Robert shrunk a little. “I told you, this is the first time I’ve been completely in control for a long while.”

Edward studied Robert’s face as he internalized this information and eventually deemed it to be the truth. “Are you going to feed me, Lanyon?” He asked, in a snippy tone. Robert gasped as if he’d been scolded.

“Oh yes! I’m sorry!” He placed the tray to the side of them and lifted a slice of bread, taking the butterknife from the tray and scooping up some berry jam onto the slice. He rose it to Edward’s expectant mouth and was unprepared for the undignified moan and melt of the little blond as soon as he’d bitten into the food. Edward didn’t notice Robert open his mouth to comment, but snap it shut again a moment later, allowing the man to enjoy his meal.

This only carried on for the first few bites. Once Edward was onto his second slice of jammed bread, he was eating more quickly, focused on getting as much food into his face as he could in as little time as possible.

Then came the challenge of getting something liquid into Edward’s mouth.

“How should we, hmm…” Robert held the glass, tilting it this way and that, trying to figure out how to go about this.

“Just tilt the water into my mouth,” Edward growled. “I’ll put my head back and open my mouth and you can just pour it in. Go ahead.” He threw his head back and opened his mouth wide.

“I can’t do that, what if you choke?” Robert argued. “We’re not doing that. Just stand up and take a sip yourself.”

“I’m tired Robert,” Edward sighed dramatically. “And you’re the one who’s supposed to be looking after ME right now, so hurry up and let me have a drink!”

“I don’t want to accidentally hurt you more than I’ve done!” Robert snapped, allowing anger to cross his face. He immediately shut right up when he saw Edward cower back from the older man, a look of surprise on his dirty face.

‘Hyde, you two don’t get along, please let me back out.’ Henry suddenly said, sounding very tired. Edward frowned and looked to his right, where he saw Henry sitting on his calves, hands on his knees and just as filthy as Edward was.

“No, it’s… I’m fine.” Edward swallowed. “Go rest. I’ll deal with this.”

‘Edward…’

“What did I say?” Edward hissed a bit, then realized how tense his body was and tried to relax a bit, smiling softly. “You deserve to rest, Henry.”

The brunette hesitated a bit, glancing over to Robert, who was looking right at him in sorrow. He flinched, for a second scared Robert could see him, before realizing the other man was just connecting the dots and knew who Edward was talking to.

Henry looked back at Edward. ‘Finish eating, then let me change. Please, Edward.’

Edward sighed quietly and nodded shortly. “Fine. Now go get a break in.”

He watched Henry dissipate, and then looked back at Robert, who was still gazing at the empty air beside Edward. His eyes were glazed with tears.

“I’m… Completely responsible…” Robert choked out, looking back at Edward. “This is all on me…”

The blond scoffed. “Yeah, let me get that drink now, Lanyon.”

Robert could only nod and they finally got Point A to Point B, and although much of the water spilled over Edward’s already ruined shirt and vest, he did not choke on the liquid.

The pudding was finished off quickly as well, with little amount of fuss and even littler amount of dialogue, and Edward got one more drink of water before he rested back against the wall, eyes closed as he allowed his stomach to adjust to the sudden amount of food that filled it.

When he opened them to see Robert looking rather scaredly at him, he knew what the older man was thinking and expecting. He supposed he should give him what he wanted.

Slowly, almost as if it were for dramatic effect, Edward’s features morphed. He grew back into his clothing, his hair darkened, his eyes changed colours and his posture became only the smallest bit better.

As soon as it was Henry Jekyll looking sleepily at Robert, Robert let out a sob.

“Oh, Henry, my dearest Henry…” Robert cried, clenching his fists in his lap. “I cannot believe this is my doing, but it is, and I don’t have the words to apologize for it, much as I’m sure you don’t have the words or the heart to forgive me, and Henry, oh god, I hope when you get out of here you can forget all about me one day…”

Henry’s eyes widened a little, not expecting the sudden emotion from his… From his friend.

“Oh…” He shifted a bit where he sat, shuddering as his clothes un-stuck themselves from his skin. “Oh, please… I…” He frowned and bit his lip to prevent his own eyes from spilling over.

Robert looked away from Henry as he sobbed again, putting a hand over his face and crying.

Henry, much to Edward’s chagrin, allowed Robert to cry for him for several minutes, occasionally babbling out a few words.

It wasn’t until what Henry felt like was hours later, when in actuality it must have only been about ten minutes, that Robert pulled a cloth from Hastie’s pocket and rubbed at his wet face, cleaning up a little before he leaned over to pull the bucket of water over, setting it between the two.

Henry sensed what was happening and pushed himself against the wall to stand up, now having enough chain to undo his vest and shirt, and then his suspenders. A thought then dawned on him and he wrinkled his nose.

“I can’t fully remove this, Robert…” He stated, looking troubled as he tried to find a way to make it work. “How is this bath going to happen?” Robert shook his head.

“I will be washing around your clothes.” He stated, reaching forward to help Henry undo his buttons, namely his suspenders once the vest was undone. “If you’ll just allow me…”

Henry gasped. “Robert! I didn’t expect you to take me back to college in this way!” He said, shockingly teasing.

“Wh--I--I’m not--HENRY!” Robert cried, then laughter bubbled up within him, which prompted his college buddy to laugh as well. It took another few minutes for them to sober up once more, and Robert stepped forward to gently undo the rest of the buttons of Henry’s shirt, pulling it open and leaning down to grab the sponge from the soapy bucket.

As Robert treated him gently, scrubbing away the grime and sweat and blood from Henry’s body, Henry felt oddly like Robert was also scrubbing away the pointless resentment he’d had for his dear friend.

For how could Robert ever be anything other than his most dearest friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is very likely the third to last chapter, im kinda sad :c i feel partially like i'm taking weeks off not because of my own life's circumstances, but also because i wanna draw this out; i dont want this story to end!
> 
> leave ur predictions for how the hell you think i'm possibly gonna end this fic in ur comments, thank you so much for reading !!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll convinces Dr. Lanyon to search for the key to free him. Mr. Hyde's hopes for the Doctor are low.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning for major injury and getting your hopes up for no reason

With some effort, Robert managed to give Henry a standing bath, almost feeling like he was taking care of the elderly. The two men easily, perhaps too easily, fell back into a swing of back-and-forth banter that brought them back to their more unrefined college days, especially when Robert had to clean dirt off of Henry’s very sensitive feet.

All in all, the two had a rather decent time as Henry bathed, despite their dire situations. Once Henry was dried off and mostly clean (Robert could only do so much with their circumstances), he rattled his chains a little in an urgent way.

“Robert, since you have managed to stay in control for this long,” Henry said softly, as Robert finished buttoning his dress shirt. “Would it be possible to look for the key to these cuffs?”

Robert frowned. “I… I have no idea where to start looking.”

“Check your office, top to bottom.” Henry said simply.

“Well--that is easier said than done, you know my stress habits.” He reminded, as he grabbed up Henry’s cravat to begin loosely tying it as well. Henry frowned deeply.

“Is that enough reason not to at least try to look?” Henry offered. Robert tensed a little.

“Well no, but…” He bit his lip. “My biggest concern isn’t finding the damned thing, it’s being caught trying to find it.”

“Oh.” Henry realized, with a sag of his shoulders. Robert’s hands fell away from Henry once he’d finished with the cravat, and they were quiet for a few moments. Henry tried to get back into the wonderful swing they’d had earlier. “Why did you bother with my cravat? I mean, I look nice now, but who’s going to be around to appreciate it?”

Robert snorted a bit, not expecting the lighthearted atmosphere to make a comeback. “I’ll be here to appreciate it, and when somebody comes down here to break you free, they’d love to know you looked beautiful even in captivity.”

“Beautiful?” Henry questioned, head tilting to the side. Robert cleared his throat and took a step back.

“With that cravat, yes.” He said quickly. Henry smiled a bit, before looking down at his bound wrists.

“I hope the person who comes down to break me free is you, Robert.” He mumbled. “I really do believe you can do this.”

The corners of Robert’s lips turned down. “I don’t think I’m…”

“Enough with that.” Henry finally said, firmly. “Go up there and look for a key, please. Please… Do you want me to stay here a day longer?”

“No, but what if I’m caught?” Robert pleaded.

“You won’t be. I trust you.” Henry said. “I love you.” he rose his eyes to meet Robert’s once more.

The older man looked devastated by the confession, his eyebrows raised, his eyes wide, his lips parted. Henry’s chest churned with nervousness. He shouldn’t have said that. He didn’t even know he’d said it out loud until he looked up, he should have kept his lips together, he’s ruined everything he had with Robert. If it wasn’t because he ignored his secret love for weeks, it was definitely all over now. Even if he made it out of here, would Robert even want him back now? Now that he knows Henry disobeys God?

“I’m--”

“I’ll have a look for the key.” Robert cut him off quickly, taking a few more steps backwards. “I’ll be right back.” He then turned heel and damn near sprinted from the room.

Henry stared after his dear friend, and his chest ached more and more with each passing moment. He knew it wasn’t a transformation pain, it felt very similar to the agony he felt when he had parted ways with Morcant for the last time, only stronger than that…

‘At least now he knows you really do love him.’ Edward chimed in. The break in his concentration actually made Henry jump and he groaned as he leaned back, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head against the cold cellar wall.

“For God’s sake Edward, you frightened me.” He latched immediately onto something else of focus.

‘It’s what I’m best at,’ Edward gloated for a moment. ‘For instance, telling you I don’t think Robert will be the one returning to us.’

Henry grimaced. The thought hadn’t crossed his mind until Edward spoke it.

“He will be back.” Henry insisted. “I believe in him.”

‘Believing in him won’t undo these cuffs.’ Edward said as he manifested in front of Henry, looking at the place on the wall where the chains were connected.

“But the key he brings back will!” Henry said, with growing rebellion. “I don’t like what you are getting at Hyde, aren’t you supposed to be my caretaker right now anyway?”

Edward sputtered and floated away from Henry. ‘I am not a fucking nanny, Henry, and I am trying to warn you right now!’ He clarified quickly. ‘I know reality is scary and whatever but you must realize that Robert isn’t going to make it back here with that key!’

“And what if he does make it back here?” Henry countered, glaring at the misty man before him. “What will you say then?”

Edward stammered again, then threw his hands into the air. ‘Then I’ll say congratulations to the happy couple! But it’s not going to happen!’

“You don’t THINK it is going to happen.” Henry corrected. Edward looked up at him helplessly, shoulders slumped and arms limp beneath him now.

‘I… I don’t think it is going to happen.’ He repeated. ‘But if it does… if HE comes for us instead…’ Edward looked very insecure, Henry realized with a start. As usual, it was a bad look on the Spirit of London at Night.

Henry understood now. He, as a person, was completely torn between having faith in his rescue, and being certain that it was all a trap. He would only keep fighting with himself if he didn’t acknowledge that both opinions were valid, both perceptions were likely.

“If he comes for us, I give you permission to bite his nose off.” Henry said, in a bit of an impression of Hyde’s own ragged voice, imagining the threat to be something Edward would say himself. To his delight, Edward cracked a crooked smile.

‘I’d bite his dick off before I went anywhere near that oversized thing on his face.’ Edward drifted closer to Henry, and the brunet allowed himself to giggle at the crude statement as his blond counterpart dissipated and they waited to see who would be right.

It once again had Henry jolting when the door of the wine cellar creaked open and a man walked in.

Robert Lanyon.

In his hand was a ring of keys.

“Robert!” Henry cried, entirely too gleeful of these circumstances. “I knew you were going to be here! I knew he wasn’t going to catch you, oh Robert, I knew I could trust you!”

Robert smiled and came forward, jangling the ring of keys in his hand. “I told you I would be back, didn’t I?” He gently took Henry’s wrist and aligned one of the keys with the little lock on it.

Edward realized two things.

Robert had never promised he would return to them.

Robert was wearing the same smile as when he first told Henry he loved him, back in his bedroom, back when Henry had almost been…

‘I was right. It’s not him.’ Edward said tightly. ‘Henry, it’s not him!’

Henry, regrettably, ignored him. “God, you know, I told you I had faith in you but I really was scared down here, you know? I was nervous that it wasn’t going to be you who came back!”

Robert rose his brow and twisted the key to free Henry’s right wrist. “Who else would it be?” He asked, in a low, mellow voice. Far too mellow for over-the-top, theatrical, anxiety-ridden Robert Lanyon.

‘Henry Jekyll let me out! It’s not Robert!’ Edward began to raise his voice, hoping to block out the villain’s words.

Tragically, his pleads did nothing more than raise Henry’s resistance against his transformation, even as it bubbled painfully in his gut. Henry only drew his freed left wrist to his other hand so that he could rub the raw flesh soothingly with his still trapped right hand.

“Well, I, haha, you see I was scared that it would be Hastie who came back down here!” Henry babbled, as he watched Robert gently lift his other wrist to push a different key into the left cuff. “When I am free, Robert, we can put this all behind us, right? We can go back to being good friends? Business partners and nothing more?”

‘HENRY JEKYLL!’

“But of course, my dear,” Robert cooed, and the man seemed to revel in the way Henry tensed up and rose his gaze to the yellow snake eyes of Hastie Harris. “Everything will be just fine. You and I, we can do… Marvellous things…” He chuckled.

Hastie Harris? This wasn’t right, that was Robert’s face, he was Robert, he was being freed…

The moment both wrists were free, Henry dropped every reservation he had.

Edward Hyde was in the room in an instant, possibly the quickest he’d ever transformed, and without another moment’s time wasted he plowed his small body forward into Robert’s and knocked the brunet back before bolting from the room.

His young body carried him with ease, wind rushed past him, his hair billowing a bit behind his head. Edward turned a few corners lightning fast, keeping his head up, and his tunnel vision prevented him from seeing anything else other than the ascending staircase at the end of THIS hallway, this was it, he was free! He saved Henry Jekyll!

Something rope-like struck his calve and all of a sudden he was headed to the stone floor below.

Edward cried and brought up his hands to protect his face, curling a little as he tumbled to the floor and heard a disgusting crack as he made impact.

It was only after a long beat of silence that Edward screamed in agony and clutched his broken wrist to his chest, breathing hard around his agonized shrieks.

Over his own despair, and his own tear-clouded eyes, he failed to hear Hastie approach, or see him transform fully into Hastie at all.

His hearing seemed to work just fine, though, as a cruel laugh echoed in the final hallway.

“You are not as observant as you once were, dearest,” Hastie cooed to him, as he reached down and grabbed ahold of Edward’s uninjured arm. “Come along now, you’ve misbehaved.”

Edward began to scream in defiance now, trying to kick and push away from Hastie with his damaged hand and short legs, but before long he found his body changing shape. It was Henry’s sniffling and sobbing that made Hastie turn around in anger.

“I did not ask you to turn back!” He gave Henry a sharp slap to his face and the poor man stumbled a bit, before taking a few deep breaths and forcing Edward to come out again, who only looked up at Hastie and shook his head, breath hitching and lip curling like an angry dog.

“You can’t do this to us, we were almost out,” he snarled. “Just let us out, we almost made it, you can’t just give us that?!” His rage only did so much to make him forget that his fucking wrist was broken, but it helped him stay as himself, and if that’s what Hastie wanted right now…

Edward was unceremoniously tossed back into the wine cellar that had become his home these past several weeks, and it took a lot of effort and gritting his teeth not to turn back into Henry. He felt it coming, and writhed on the floor a bit as he internalized the change.

“Don’t you DARE transform,” Hastie growled as he stepped into the room with Edward, closing the door behind him and making sure to stand right between it and Edward. Edward took deep, steady breaths.

“You talk like it’s so easy.” He wheezed a bit, clutching his wrist and trying to hold it in a position where it would stop fucking throbbing. Of course, no matter what he tried, it kept on hurting, like a broken wrist would.

Hastie softened. “Dear Eddie, you are so new to this,” He came closer still and crouched on one knee, partially leaning over Edward’s half-collapsed form. “You don’t even know the possibilities, the advantage blocking Jekyll out could give you… I could teach you so much…” Hastie’s hand reached forward to stroke through Edward’s tangle of blond.

Edward hissed loudly and clawed his fingers on his good hand, swinging the arm up and swiping across Hastie’s freckled face. He cried a little as he landed back on that hand, before trying to prop himself up well enough to continue holding his badly damaged wrist.

The man yelped and withdrew his hand from Edward’s hair, eyes wide as the hand moved to cover the fresh clawed marks on his cheek. He took deep breaths, pulling his hand away to see that one of the scrapes had been deep enough to draw blood. He shuddered badly, his fear of blood loss nearly causing his own transformation.

From the looks of it, Edward could tell that Robert had almost come back just then.

Instead, Hastie gave Edward an animal cry of anger, got to his feet, and turned to leave the room, grabbing up the ring of keys he’d left on the small table in his pursuit of Edward, and using one of the keys to lock the door behind him.

Edward wouldn’t call himself calm until much much later, but for the time being, he pushed himself into a far corner of the room from the door and wiped away the tears he’d neglected to catch earlier, mumbling soft apologies to Henry Jekyll, for once insulting himself and his poor observation skills, his hastiness to escape, and most of all scorning his own failure.

All the while, Henry insisted there was nothing they could have done, and begged Edward to stop crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor eddie hyde thinks he's doing this for jekyll, doesn't even realize he's doing it for himself too :')
> 
> all things considered i'm pretty happy with this chapter! next chapter we see what rachel and the juice crew are up to, and then after that we have the Big Finale! leave ur predictions and hopes in the comments below! who will die? who will make it out alive? will hastie come back with a formula that actually works? will everyone be happily ever after?
> 
> all will be revealed (hopefully) before christmas! ilu all, have a good week <3


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel and her small parade of Lodgers discuss a game plan, then follow it exactly to talk to Dr. Lanyon.

In the kitchen stood Rachel, Jasper, Cantilupe, Maijabi, Ito, Sinnett, Tweedy, and Luckett. Rachel and Cantilupe were rebelliously sitting up on the countertop, while standing before them was Jasper, Sinnett, and Maijabi. Leaning on the counter on either side of Cantilupe and Rachel were Ito and Tweedy, all attentatively looking at Rachel for their game plan.

The woman looked around at the circle of saviors, and had a hard time not grinning from excitement that this was going to happen, instead keeping a serious expression as she explained fully what was going on.

“You’re all aware of this but I’m going to go over it again so we are on the same page,” Rachel began. “Dr. Jekyll has gone missing. He disappeared shortly after the meeting last week. We would have, and honestly should have gone immediately, but I don’t think we really knew where to even start. Cantilupe and I have been thinking and talking and we thought up a good plan.”

“We’re going to Lanyon’s place.” Cantilupe said, and Rachel hushed as the older woman took charge. “We’re going to go over there and demand to know when the man last saw Dr. Jekyll, and then we’re going to inform him of his assistant’s visit to our building, and that bloody note he left too.” Cantilupe leaned in a little, subconsciously causing the rest of the circle to lean in too. “We really should have gone earlier but we couldn’t just burst in without… Without a game plan.” She looked at Rachel, clearly a little salty about putting her vengeance on hold.

Rachel nodded, not at all blaming the scientist. “We don’t want to flood him with questions either otherwise he’ll just get angry and kick us out. I’ll do most of the talking.”

“What--why are we here then??” Tweedy asked, arms crossed. “Are we just for intimidation?”

“No, no!” Rachel assured. “Uh, well a little bit. Most of it is for sentimental value. Jasper and I figured that if we’re backed with faces that Jekyll cared about, faces that were newest and oldest to his and Lanyon’s Society, then we’ll break him in sooner and he’ll be quicker to give us information.”

“Will we get a chance to talk?” Sinnett asked. “I mean obviously we want to stay on course, what with the uh, urgency of the situation. But…”

“If it’s needed.” Rachel sighed, looking amongst the Lodgers around her.

“So you called us all here to run the game plan by us,” Luckett clarified. “Are we leaving soon?”

“After dinner.” Rachel said. “We still need--”

“This is urgent, isn’t it?” Ito asked, frowning deeply. “We should go now! Hell, we could have gone a week ago, planned on the road.”

“I-I understand that,” Rachel said, looking at Dr. Jekyll’s assistant. “But we needed to be sure it was what we wanted to do--”

“You’re saying saving Jekyll isn’t something you were sure about?” Ito hissed a little, leaning towards Rachel, who tried to make herself taller up on the counter somehow, leaning a little against Cantilupe.

“No I was sure about it! I just didn’t want to risk losing Lanyon’s trust by bombarding him!” Rachel rose her voice a little.

“He was just here a few days ago looking for Jekyll!” Luckett said loudly, although he didn’t seem motivated by anger. Could have fooled poor Rachel. “We could have teamed up on him then, right here in the Society!”

“We weren’t--I couldn’t--” She threw her hands in the air. “I’m just the cook! He won’t listen to me alone!”

The group looked at her in quiet, feeling her nerves as she wilted once more, hands falling into her lap between her parted thighs. “I’m just the cook… You all carry far more weight as members of this Society than I do. I don’t think he likes me very much either, on top of the fact that I am lower than him in rank, and he’s such a high gentleman that I don’t think…” She looked up at Jasper, wearily. “I don’t think I can save my friend all on my own, as much as I want to.”

Cantilupe hummed in sympathy and pursed her lips as she leaned towards Rachel, opening her arms and giving her a sideways hug. Rachel took a moment before she accepted it and hugged up around Cantilupe’s arm, pouting down at her lap. Jasper came forward and gave her a hug as well, Cantilupe moving back as Rachel more readily accepted his embrace. Ito and Tweedy looked at each other, then at Luckett and Sinnett, who all looked rather meek about their pressuring behavior, having not realized the pressure on their cook. Maijabi merely shook his head, having remained quiet this whole time.

“Rachel,” He spoke up, and Rachel looked over to the old man. His head was tilted in her direction, eyes half-closed in thought. “You are part of the reason Jekyll ever opened this building. You are important to the building, and to its’ members, especially to its’ founders. If anything, Lanyon owes you for being here this long, putting up with the low funding and managing to make beautiful dishes out of nothing but, I don’t know, potatoes and molasses.” The Lodgers around him chuckled in agreement and encouragement. “You are every bit as important, if not more so, in this endeavor. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’re honoured that you’ve asked us to help you find Dr. Jekyll.”

By the end of Maijabi’s moviestar speech, Rachel was teary-eyed, and Jasper had pulled back to look at Rachel’s reddening face. “We’re here for you just as much as we are here for Jekyll.” He said softly. “We love you.”

It was at that point Rachel grabbed Jasper close again and sobbed a bit, hugging him tight.

After dinner, the small parade of Lodgers, lead by Rachel, left the Society.

OoOoO

“Good day?” Lanyon’s butler blinked at the crowd on the doorstep, confused. “May I help you with something?”

“Hello, sir, we are members of Dr. Robert Lanyon’s Society for Arcane Sciences,” Rachel presented them, allowing them to stand around her in a bit of a gang-like way. She supposed it wasn’t strange that the butler seemed standoffish. “You may know the Doctor’s cofounder of the Society, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and it has come to our attention and many others’ that Dr. Jekyll has gone missing.”

“Ah.” The man nodded slowly, beginning to close the door as he didn’t want to deal with it…

“Ah wait, please, sir!” She urged, stepping closer. “We need to speak with Dr. Lanyon about this, urgently! We’re not sure he actually knows about this, we believe he may not be in the right mind to care about his cofounder. We’re here to help him, and by extension, help Dr. Jekyll.”

The butler looked at them a moment before he opened the door again a little, frowning. “I have noticed the Master becoming ill as of late,” The man at the door said, with a bit of a sigh. “I have seen you here before, you’ve cooked with our Emma, haven’t you?”

“Yes, yes I have.” Rachel confirmed.

“And you lot behind her?” He addressed the Lodgers with skepticism. They were an odd looking bunch.

“We are here to help. Lanyon knows us, we’re scientists from the Society.” Tweedy said, straightening his coat a little. The rest of them nodded and made quiet sounds of agreement.

“We’re the backup.” Luckett said, earning an elbow to his side from Tweedy and a scolding look from Sinnett. “We’re… Here to help. With Dr. Lanyon.”

“Well… I will let you in,” The man said, opening the door wider. “Under the circumstances that you go straight to the parlor and wait for Master Lanyon there while I fetch him.”

“Thank you so much, sir, really, thank you.” Rachel praised as she was let inside, the others following close behind her.

Tensely, the group followed the home’s butler through the lobby and down a hallway to the left. They walked in silence, too nervous now that they were in to look around and really appreciate how fancy this manor was. Their eyes mostly glazed over each painting and wall details, the pottery and beautiful wallpaper, the lovely carpet…

Rachel’s nervous and unattentive glancing around was cut as she caught a glimpse of a tall man down a hallway to her right. His walk was slow, almost zombie-like… She could catch him if she went for it...

Without a second thought, she took a sharp right turn and sprinted down the hall after the man.

She saw her target realize he was caught, and rocket down the hall at a pace no zombie would be able to run. She heard a cry of the home’s butler and the Lodgers, then heard and felt the heavy footsteps over her own as she chased down the man she’d been looking for. Her target turned at the end of the hallway and after another moment there was a slam of a door. Rachel skidded around the hallway and came across the aforementioned slammed door. It seemed a regular wooden door, however its’ sound was not that of a wooden door. She rushed towards it and tried to open the door by pushing, only to quickly discover it was a pull. There was a sound of metal on metal, then keys hitting the floor, then a faint curse and footsteps running away from the door.

She was cautious now, frowning as her hand slowly fell off the doorknob. The rest of her party came around the corner.

“Miss Rachel I am shocked that you would--” The butler’s voice gasped, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “You cannot enter that room! Come with me at once!” She saw the Lodgers behind her, staring at her in total surprise that she’d destroyed her own plan.

With defiance, she turned around again to face the door. “Why shouldn’t I go inside?”

“Because--because I said so! Because Master Lanyon has expressed that nobody enter that room!” He cried.

Rachel then threw all of her hesitance to the wind and swung the door open towards herself.

She found it heavy to open, and was quick to discover that the wooden part of the door was only a decoy, and the other side of it was made of metal. She stepped aside with the door to display what she thought was going to be a room with her target inside, but was instead met with a typical horror story spiral staircase, leading downwards, lit dimly by candles. From down the stairs, she could hear the faint retreating steps of the man she’d given chase to, as well as some angry-sounding voices.

On the top step of the staircase was a ring of keys, and Rachel leant down to pick it up, finding a keyhole in the metal part of the door. Her target must have tried to lock her out. She looked back at the butler, who looked completely shocked by what they had just discovered.

“You did not know about this medieval part of the manor?” She asked, waving the ring of keys around. “Because I just saw one Dr. Lanyon disappear behind this door, and I believe he just tried to lock us out.” She went on.

“I knew nothing of what was behind that door. I was not told to ever ask of it.” He mumbled. Tweedy, Maijabi, Cantilupe, and Ito seemed to be stepping past the butler, who showed no effort to hold them back.

“Seems suspicious.” Rachel turned towards the entrance again and took one step down the stairs.

“No--don’t! This is a violation, I can’t witness this!” The butler cried. “I may lose my job!”

Rachel turned around fully to face him, allowing the Lodgers to part so she could see him. “Don’t tell me you aren’t concerned that your Master is not all that he seems? That you’re not at least a little bit eager to see what this is all about?”

“I may lose my job.” The butler repeated. Rachel frowned deeply.

“You do not have to come with us.” She said quietly. “If you’re not allowed down there, and your job is to fetch Dr. Lanyon for us, then consider your job done. I need to follow Dr. Lanyon and get answers out of him!”

The butler helplessly watched as Tweedy, Maijabi, Cantilupe, and Ito all followed Rachel down, and as Jasper, Sinnett, and Luckett followed suit, he slowly began to trail after them, closing the medieval door behind him instinctively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah they didnt follow their game plan at all :') sorry this is miserably written btw, im poor at writing groups of characters and i feel like steven moffat with how mixed my woman characters' motivations are, im so sorry about that aaaaa
> 
> i hope that when this story is finished i'll be able to go back and make a remastered version of it that is better written but for now, i've overwritten once more and extended the life of this story by a chapter or two
> 
> sooo this will be done sometime mid december? Im not sure heh we'll see <3


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel and the crew (and the Butler) travel down into the 'storage area' to find Dr. Lanyon, or perhaps Mr. Harris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter's admittedly a little weak, but bear with me, the next chapter should be twice as long and very intense to read, as it will be the last one in this story, the big finale, the grand conclusion
> 
> if u have any final predictions, bets on who'll live and who'll die, please leave a review or message me abt them, i'd love to know!!!
> 
> with that, enjoy this second last chapter <3

Rachel descended the stairs in the most cautious way she’d ever descended a staircase in her life. She had beside her Jasper Kaylock, who she had beckoned to the front after seeing him try to stay behind in the back of the group. He now took every step after hers, very upset about these circumstances, but triumphing on to support his friend and to save their Society’s founder, possibly both of them.

Behind him and Rachel, the crowd of Lodgers and the poor butler followed, seeming to take their lead of caution as they all looked around in total awe. Cantilupe had Maijabi’s hand in her own as they descended, her other hand brushing the rough stone wall of the staircase. She was shaking, her teeth grit toughly together. It was occurring to Cantilupe that by stepping right into this place, they were not only one step closer to finding Dr. Jekyll, but also one step closer to the place Lavender was held during her kidnapping.

The thought of confronting the monster that did that to her filled her with determination, as much as it did with fear and anger over what happened. She was worried she might not be able to control herself, whatever her reaction would be, or what her reaction even WOULD be. She kept her thoughts to herself, hoping maybe Maijabi was a mind reader on top of being clairvoyant. He kept her hand firmly in hers.

Sinnett was sandwiched between Tweedy and Luckett, walking just behind Cantilupe and Maijabi. He was possibly more anxious than Jasper, which made some sense, as he was only a little less new than the werewolf, and lacked the ability to turn into a beast for any kind of self-defense. His metal hands ground together a little as he wrung and pressed them together in front of himself, and while he could tell the sounds were irritating Tweedy a little, he couldn’t help himself. He kept his head forward, only allowing himself to see the way forward and nothing more.

Behind them still were Miss Ito and the butler, who seemed rather put off by the woman beside him and her invisible ferocity. She was intent to keep him on track with the rest of them, not wanting to risk him running back up the stairs or, heaven forbid, stabbing them in the back because he was the real mastermind.

But that was ridiculous. The butler didn’t do it.

The descent down the stairs didn’t take long, and soon the group found themselves at the beginning of a hallway. They walked in slightly awkward, tense silence until they reached the end of the hallway, turned a corner, and found another hallway.

At the end they could see it turned again, and a few of the group members could plainly see that this originally wide room had been split lengthwise to create two very long hallways. Rachel didn’t like that, what was Dr. Lanyon trying to hide down here?

“It’s like a medieval maze down here.” Tweedy commented quietly. “Did he build all this himself?” He asked, rhetorically, although he wouldn’t mind a response to fill the air.

“Who, Lanyon or the kidnapper?” Luckett asked, glancing over.

“I don’t think the kidnapper lives here.” Tweedy said in disbelief.

Rachel glanced behind her to look at the butler. “Do you know if a man by the name of Hastie Harris ever lived in this home?”

“Mr. Harris, he doesn’t live here.” He said quickly, wanting the attention off of him. “Master Lanyon only began to work with him a few months ago.”

“He left this note, Mr. Harris did, when he kidnapped Dr. Jekyll.” Rachel said, as she reached into her pocket to pull the note out and hand it back to the butler. He read it and distress wore clear on his features.

“What on earth has been going on here?” He asked.

“You had no idea about any of this, did you.” Ito asked bluntly, not even looking at the butler. The man lowered his head as he passed the note back to Rachel.

“I may have put too much faith in Master Lanyon…” He admitted, a little sour that he’d been wrong but also frightened that he’d been wrong in this way.

“You didn’t notice Dr. Lanyon acting weird or anything?” Sinnett asked, with a bit of a tremble in his voice. He himself had noticed that the regularly boisterous and theatrical gentleman had been a little more subdued and cautious lately.

“In hindsight, yes, I suppose he was acting a touch strange since he met Mr. Harris.” The butler said softly.

“Tell us about it.” Maijabi spoke up. “We need to know as much as we can before this inevitable confrontation we are to have with either Mr. Harris or Dr. Lanyon.”

Inevitable, he’d said. Cantilupe made a small sound and clutched his hand tighter.

“What if all we find is a few wine cellars and storage rooms?” She asked. “Maybe we won’t find anyone down here!”

“Mrs. Cantilupe.” Maijabi lowered his voice, leaning closer to her. “Do not get cold feet now. We are close.”

She looked at him in astonishment. “You really are clairvoyant, aren’t you?”

He only smiled, not looking at her.

“We can tell you what we know, Mr. …” Rachel frowned. “Beg your pardon, in the calamity upstairs, we never got your name.”

“Just call me Ernest.” He spoke quietly, still rather subdued. “Please, tell me what you know of this whole situation. I do not want to spend another moment more in darkness, if this is really as bad as my gut says it is.” The nervous man was now ready to listen, too far into this mess to have any chance of backing out now.

She began at the beginning; when Lavender had gone missing. She told him that during the period of time, stress at the Society had been high, and nobody was comfortable to go outside besides herself who had to do groceries, Dr. Jekyll who had to leave for business, and Mr. Hyde who was confident he was in no danger out there. She explained that during the absence of Lavender, Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon had had a falling-out of sorts, apparently taking a break from each other, and that rumours in the Society had spread that the collapse of their building was imminent. It didn’t seem that way to her however, it only seemed like the men needed time apart to cope with a Lodger going missing in their own ways. She could only imagine what it would feel like for somebody in her care to be kidnapped.

She had been in the middle of telling him about when the police had found Lavender, when the group turned the corner at the end of the hallway, to see a door on their left. Rachel stopped talking, and everyone else stopped walking when she did. Glancing further down the hall, she saw the entire rest of the left wall was covered in doors as well, with one door at the end and a few on the right towards the end as well.

“This… Is no wine cellar that I have ever seen.” Ernest commented, squinting a bit as he noticed a plaque on the door. “What does that say?”

“‘Ghost’.” Rachel said quietly, as she bit her lip and walked towards the door. She went to open it, not sure why she was even surprised that the door was locked tight. She looked back at the group, who all looked unnerved, before Maijabi released Cantilupe’s hand to step forward out of the crowd and gently placed his hand on the door, leaning forward until his ear was also pressed against the door.

In his ear whispered agonies of beings who were once human, as well as the confused murmurings of someone who still was human. Occasionally this human’s speech would be overridden by some possessive spirit taking control of his vocal chords to say something, before he would go back to being his own confused self. Maijabi could practically see it; the man inside was not aware of where he was, likely saw only a spirit world around him, likely was either drugged or possessed deeply enough that he didn’t realize what he was seeing was the afterlife.

“Dr. Maijabi…” Mrs. Cantilupe came after him, her hand hovering over his shoulder. He turned and his hand came up to grasp hers.

“There are ghosts in there. I can hear them. That much was plain from the sign on the door.” He said gruffly, then looked at Rachel. “There is also a human male inside, not dead yet, but he will be soon. The ghosts have possessive powers over him.”

Rachel looked more than distressed about that, and decided she would step forward to try to hear what Maijabi heard.

All she could hear was the quiet, muffled voice of one man, angry one moment and confused the next, crying one moment and confused the next, happy one moment…

Rachel shook her head and moved away from the door. “There is a whole other hallway of doors. We need to keep going, there’s no way Lanyon isn’t behind at least one of them!”

“This feels like a fucked up game...” Tweedy said, looking at Luckett. Luckett could only nod, his jaw unable to shut properly.

“I don’t think any of these doors are going to open.” He mumbled back. “I am calling it right now.”

Rachel ignored the colour commentary and stepped to the next door, grabbing the handle and trying to twist it. “Damn. Damn…” She whispered, and actually jumped when a hand rested over hers on the door knob.

She looked over to a very worried Jasper. “Take this slow.” He mumbled to her. He felt like now was the time to be quiet. “We can take this slow. There is no rush.”

“R-right.” Rachel stammered, nodding and swallowing. “No rush at all.” She looked up at the label on this door. “‘Werewolf’.” Jasper’s eyes widened and he looked up at it as well. Something like fear welled up in his belly.

“Wait if there was a ghost in that other door, is there a werewolf in this one??” He pressed his own ear to the door this time, and heard nothing at first. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, honing in on his wolvish instincts and tuning in to the sound of the square room on the other side of the door.

He heard faint breathing, heard fur rustling gently as the creature in the corner moved, wiggling a bit as she slept and occasionally sighing or snorting. But the next moment he heard whimpering of a dog, which he could tell from Rachel squeezing his hand that she had heard that as well, which slowly transitioned into a much more human sound. Jasper then heard the sleepy yawn of a girl, whose flesh brushed against the floor beneath her, causing her to shudder and then stretch before she rolled over and curled up, shivering. He couldn’t just hear it, he could sense it…

“Jasper.” He heard a loud whisper, and he yelped, eyes flying open as he looked to his left at Rachel--then looked down at Rachel beside him.

“A-ah.” He blinked. He’d grown a foot in height, his nose had become a bit of a snout, his hair shaggy and growing down the sides of his face, his hands and arms were hairy and halfway to becoming paws and canine limbs. He shrunk back a little in his partially-transformed state.

“Yes. Definitely a werewolf over there.” He mumbled, looking away. Rachel squeezed his hand again.

“Thank you, Jasper.” She tried to smile up to him, and he tried to smile back.

While the two were having their puppy love, Cantilupe and Ito and Ernest had walked further to the third door down the way. The ‘Butterfly’ door. Ito frowned and gave the door a knock, expecting some kind of vocal answer or nothing at all.

She didn’t expect to hear a sudden loud beating sound, like that of hummingbird wings, although Ernest guessed they may have been butterfly wings based on the door’s label. The beating sound came close quickly and there was a bang against the door, startling everyone in the corridor and eliciting a few surprised yelps from Cantilupe and Ernest. Ito jumped away from the door and cursed under her breath, watching the door as if it would move. The beating stopped, there was a tapping, metallic sound, before the beating returned and the door jostled just a little in its’ place as the beating grew farther away again.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Ito muttered. “What are these men doing down here?”

“I don’t want to stay.” Sinnett spoke up at last, and all eyes turned to him. “This was a horrible idea, can’t we just leave and ask Dr. Lanyon next we see him what this is all about?”

“You’re just scared,” Luckett told him, facing the younger man. “Shush now, be brave.”

“I’m not allowed to be scared?” Sinnett asked, sounding just as frightened as he was.

“Let the man be scared, Luckett.” Ito scolded. “We’ve all got the right to be scared. This is--”

An anguished cry attracted their attention to the opposite direction, where the final two doors were. Cantilupe was pressing herself against the wall opposite the second to last door, staring at it in what looked like absolute devastation and madness. Rachel and Ito rushed over to her, and quickly learned why she had reacted the way she did.

‘Wendigo’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've decided i'll be releasing one more chapter after the final chapter, filled with little easter eggs, things i coulda fixed, things that were cut, and things that weren't supposed to happen in the original! so look forward to one more story chapter, and one horrendously packed bonus content chapter! ovo
> 
> again sorry this chapter was a bit weak, i'm poor at writing groups of people, and would randomly remember a character was in the room that i had to pay attention to, so if its inconsistent and ppl are quiet for long times, that is why that is
> 
> anyway uh! buckle up ur seatbelts everybody, this is gonna be a rEALLY bumpy finish line up ahead!
> 
> i'll see u there friends <3


	24. The End Of Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde finally escape captivity, along with Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Hastie.

“Get her away from the door!” Rachel hissed, stepping towards Cantilupe as Ito carefully put an arm around the old woman. “Get her away from this place!”

Together they got Cantilupe down the hall, away from the second last door of the hallway. Jasper stumbled backwards as he began to shrink back down to his human form, and Ernest hurried to the others to usher them back around the corner with quick words of encouragement.

Cantilupe wasn’t even crying at this point; she appeared to be in the throws of a huge panic attack, breathing quick and uneven, hands wringing together, eyes wide and unable to look at anything besides in the direction of the Wendigo door.

“Alright Cantilupe just calm down,” Rachel began immediately, allowing the older woman to slide down the wall and descending with her, kneeling in front. “Just breathe, okay?”

“That won’t help her, damn it,” Tweedy hissed as he crouched as well. “She won’t suddenly be better if you just tell her to be!”

“Tweedy stand back up and let me handle it!” Rachel growled. “Cantilupe, listen to my voice.”

“What did I just say?!” Tweedy went to move Rachel out of the way to take her place, but was taken off guard when Luckett and Sinnett both teamed up to grab Tweedy’s arms and pull him back into a stand.

“You’re making it worse, dunce.” Luckett mumbled to him with a serious expression. “Just stand back!”

“I believe that’s enough.” Maijabi said to them, the last and slowest around the corner, as he looked at them with glassy eyes. “We should not be here. Death is approaching.”

“D-death…?” Jasper squeaked. “Oh, god, what do you mean?”

“He’s bluffing, he’s trying to scare us.” Sinnett said quickly. “Right??” He looked at Tweedy and Luckett for reassurance, but both men were looking away, uncomfortable. Sinnett frowned. “Answer me!”

“They are silent because they know I am right.” Maijabi hummed, as he stepped closer yet. He observed Rachel on the ground, still trying to keep Cantilupe from losing it completely, Ito by her side now. “Let’s allow them to have their time to cool off, they will join us later.”

“We should all just get out of here now I think,” Ernest suggested, with a deep frown. “I’ve had enough, and clearly so have the ladies.”

“You, Rachel, and Cantilupe, at least, must find answers.” Maijabi said. “Out of us, you are the ones who need the closure, who need to see what is about to happen.” Ernest looked particularly displeased with this, although did not answer, acknowledging that this man who saw ghosts might know more about fate than he did.

“This clearly isn’t helping Cantilupe though.” Tweedy growled. “Let’s just all get out of here. Rachel!”

“Do not bother them.” Maijabi scolded once more, and began to make his exit. 

Cantilupe had steadily transitioned from full blown panic to despaired crying. She was curled in on herself and her hands were over her face, and Rachel had moved to be beside her, while Ito sat against the wall opposite her to give her breathing room.

“Cantilupe if you need to leave, I can take you up with the boys,” Ito murmured to her, looking troubled beyond words. “They just went up.”

Cantilupe looked up at Ito and sniffled a bit. “I-I just got scared, I… It was too much proof, too much evidence.” She rubbed her palms against her eyes. “This is Lanyon’s home, and we found where he’s been keeping my Lavender! He’s the one behind this and the police found nothing?! This could have been solved weeks ago! Lavender’s kidnapper could have been behind bars by now!!”

“Cantilupe please…” Rachel gently rubbed the woman’s shoulder. “I’ll admit I’m upset as all hell about this as well, but we have to inspect that last door rationally. It had a label too, did it not?”

“I saw one, yes. No time to read it, though.” Ito said quietly. “Do you want me to…?”

“No, we’ll go together.” Rachel said quietly, glancing up to Ernest. She hesitated. “You don’t look well…”

“I have a very bad feeling, Miss Rachel.” He mumbled. “A very bad feeling…” Ernest peeked around the corner of the hallway.

“Let’s take another minute, yeah?” Ito suggested. “We could all use it, I’m sure--”

At the same time, all four of them heard a wail around the corner. Three out of the four of them immediately recognized the voice.

“Jekyll!”

OoOoO

Hyde eventually grew exhausted of crying, and too tired to keep his shape, he slipped back into the form of Dr. Jekyll before falling asleep in the farthest corner of the room to the door. His dreams (or were they nightmares?) were not remembered when he woke up, but as soon as he was awake enough, he allowed Hyde to take over again.

He dared not leave the room, the horrible ache of his broken wrist reminding him of what happened last time he tried to escape. The injury alone was enough to prevent him from leaving again.

Regardless, he still held the broken wrist to his chest and paced the room, looking at the various bottles of wine and other things he might be able to use to knock Hastie out in order to escape more properly.

The issue was, Hyde was already drained from the previous day, and being out to nurse this wound and work on an escape plan wasn’t helping him regain any energy.

‘Hyde, please, you are going to exhaust us again.’ Henry pleaded softly. ‘He may not give us food or water for a long while yet, perhaps not until the next experiment, and who knows if that’ll be today or tomorrow or…’

“Henry,” Edward responded, weary as he tried to lift a bottle with one hand, cursing lightly as he couldn’t. “I know I keep on saying this could be our only chance, but he forgot to cuff us this time, it really could be our last chance before he locks us up again, I…”

‘You’ve already done all you could!” Henry cried, materializing in front of Edward to separate him from the bookshelf, taking up the small space between and making Edward step back. ‘It’s time to rest, Edward, please! You’ll make us pass out, and then what will he do to us?’

Edward shook his head as he reached beyond Jekyll, trying to a smaller wine bottle. “I can do it this time, I won’t fail you Jekyll…”

‘For God’s sake…’ Henry sounded close to tears, in despair. ‘You’re failing yourself too right now, you know! Just go sit down! He’ll be back any--’

Henry went dead silent. Edward’s ears picked up on the sound of a door slamming, and then fast footsteps echoing, closing in on his room.

He quickly hoisted the smallest bottle up into his hand, wincing as he held his injured wrist to his chest and slipped beside the door on the side it opened to.

He couldn’t have been there another moment too soon, as Hastie was soon to burst inside, breathing heavily.

“Edward?!” He looked around, and before Edward could even swing the bottle up to strike his kidnapper, their eyes met, and Hastie lunged forward, cornering him against the wall and slamming the door shut. “Edward!!” Edward could only squeak as he had a minor flashback and dropped the bottle, faintly hearing it clatter to the floor.

Hastie kept one hand against the door to hold it shut and the other reaching up to caress Edward’s face, and oh, god, how did Edward ever think he could stand up to his attacker after all that had happened? Henry was right, he should have left well enough alone, should have--

“Eddie, oh god, he’s going to kill me…!”

“H-he??” The blond stammered out. “He who??” It was now that Edward saw tears tracking down the sides of Hastie’s face. It was horribly disturbing to see. “Hastie…?” He was so vulnerable, what…

“I’ve gone way, way too far, my dearest,” Hastie moaned, shoulders heaving as he took a shuddery breath. “I knew it from the start but I just kept going because I thought I was invincible! And now he is going to kill me, going to kill us, because he’s regained his strength and I didn’t think he could but he did, it’s horrible but he’s done it and it’s all Henry’s fault, he should have stayed quiet, should have kept his feelings private!”

Hastie choked back another cry and closed his eyes. “I’ve never felt sorrow this great, never felt regret this great, this is all my fault Eddie, I just wanted to help us but I, I’d forgotten reason, the moment I drank that formula I’d forgotten all reason…!”

Something clicked in Edward’s head.

“Hastie…” He said shakily, regardless of his revelation he was still hideously frightened of this man, this manipulative horrible man. “I-I think I get it, I’m like you…”

Hastie’s eyes widened.

“Now you’re getting it?!” He asked frantically, hand moving from holding Edward’s face to gripping his shoulder. “I needed you in the beginning!”

“You just said yourself that this was wrong from the beginning!” Edward protested, trying to move away from Hastie again. “Don’t TOUCH ME!!”

Hastie let go immediately. “I’m so so sorry, Edward, I, ahh…!” This seemed to break Hastie as he wailed softly, putting his face in his hand. The hand that was keeping the door shut fell to his side, and Edward watched it fall.

Clutched in the man’s right hand was a blunt, heavy-looking hammer.

Edward immediately darted away from Hastie and retreated to the far corner of the room from the door, once more. “I knew it! You horrible lying man! What the fuck is that for?!” He pointed frantically at the hammer with his good hand, eyes blown wide with disbelief.

“No! No no no Eddie it isn’t like that I don’t have control, I, it’s Robert, it’s not me I promise I swear it!!” He almost sobbed, although he only turned to face Edward, not approaching the smaller man. “Please, Eddie, you have to believe me, we’re the same, we both fear death do we not? I said, I said Robert was going to kill me, this is his tool, at least one of them…!”

Edward just watched as Hastie let down every defensive wall he’d ever had, and his gut twisted with pain. He’d never seen Hastie this vulnerable, he’d never seen anyone this vulnerable ever.

“This can’t be an act…” He whispered, as his face fell and he took a step towards Hastie. “Why hasn’t Robert done it yet then, Hastie?” He asked. Hastie sniffled and looked down at the hammer.

“He’s waiting, he’s letting me say goodbye.” He mumbled, almost incomprehensive. “This is the last time I’m ever going to speak to you, Edward Hyde…”

The blond’s stomach sank.

“Oh…” The gravity of the situation was now upon him. “Oh, Hastie, I…”

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry for all of this Edward, I really didn’t mean for it to get this far, I just got carried away and by the time we got here it was go big or go home and I thought it was going to work, I thought we could be free of our oppressors Eddie but now…” He sobbed. “I love you Edward Hyde, I will always love you…”

There was a snap in Edward, just then. He felt a spark. Something he hadn’t felt since he first met Hastie, all that time ago…

His own eyes welled up. “Damn it, god fucking DAMN it, why couldn’t we make this work?” He rushed forward to embrace Hastie, despite the scream of alarm and betrayal from his other half. “Why did we let it get to this point?!” He buried his face into Hastie’s chest, his broken wrist hurting as he held the larger man.

“Edward, Edward…” He whispered, breath hitching, as he reached with his open hand to caress Edward’s face. “I don’t want to die…”

“Nobody does, Hastie.” He whispered back, as his salty tears spilled. “It’s what makes us human.”

He then did something he never thought he’d do again, and stood on the tips of his toes to press his lips delicately to Hastie’s. Hastie shuddered and didn’t kiss back, refused to kiss back. Edward only pressed harder.

Suddenly Hastie smiled against Edward’s lips. “I love you, Edward Hyde.” He said in a cracking voice. Edward blinked his eyes open, unsure of when they’d closed.

“I love…” He gasped. “No! Lanyon, don’t you dare, I wasn’t done!!”

Robert’s brown eyes stared pitifully down at Edward.

“He can’t come back. I’m finishing this.” Robert Lanyon pushed Edward back and turned to face the wall, bracing his arm against it and raising the hammer.

“I WASN’T DONE!”

Edward cried in alarm. The hammer struck Hastie Harris’ wrist, the same wrist Edward had broken previously.

It was at the same time that Edward fled into the form of Henry Jekyll, and Robert Lanyon reclaimed his body for his own.

Robert was slow to turn around to see Henry, teary-eyed and shaking with the remnants of Edward’s sorrow, and all either man could hear in their minds were the echoing sobs of their alternates.

“Henry…” Robert addressed, voice hoarse as the hammer fell from his grasp and his destroyed wrist trembled in agony. He steeled himself. “I have to be the one to end this. I am the one who started it, after all.”

“You’re insane.” Henry stated merely, shuddering. He looked more angry than Robert had ever seen him. “You need to calm down, think about what you’re doing.”

“Do you think I deserve to live, that HE deserves to live, after what he’s done?” Robert snarled as he reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a blue tinted vial, Henry couldn’t tell what the contents were.

“Robert, what the hell are you doing? You can’t do this!” He stepped towards Robert. “There is still time! We can find another way, we can save this!”

An anguished cry right outside the door startled both men, and Robert suddenly uncapped the vial and drank about half the contents before stopping to cough as they went down the wrong pipe.

“Robert Lanyon you didn’t!” Henry hissed and ran forward, grabbing the vial out of Robert’s hands and gave it a quick sniff. His face paled and he looked down into the vial.

“Cyanide.” His older friend spoke before Henry could speak. “I am ending this, I can’t go on, I just can’t.” He went to take the vial back, but Henry took a step backwards and shook his head.

“To Hell with both of us!” He cried, before knocking back the rest of the vial himself.

“Henry Jekyll!”

In two short strides, Henry was close to Robert once again, and he pulled the man close to do something he’d wanted to do since their college days.

Henry Jekyll kissed Robert Lanyon.

Robert didn’t react at first. Henry was heartbroken, closing his eyes and bringing his unharmed arm up around Robert to hold him closer, begging silently that Robert would kiss back, would give him at least this before they left this world forever. He pleaded, please, just kiss him back, he needed this before it was too late for sure, he needed to know…

At last, Henry felt Robert’s lips press back against his own, and he choked on a sob as Robert’s own arms came up to loosely wrap around the younger Doctor. Robert too whimpered and they kissed for a long minute before Robert pulled away and he almost collapsed.

Henry gasped and gently pulled the other towards the wall opposite the door, just beneath where his shackles had kept him imprisoned for who knew how long.

“It’s okay Robert, we’re here together, neither of us can live past this…” Henry soothed, as he sunk to the ground, Robert falling as well to be cradled loosely in Henry’s arms.

He shuddered and his skin was paling fast, it was depressing to watch, Henry thought, as he made every attempt to drown out his closest friend’s screams of pain and fear as he realized he was dying. He imagined Robert was hearing much the same thing, although he couldn’t be called a friend…

“Henry…” Robert rasped, as he twisted a bit to look at him. He perked up as he listened. “We’re both dying…”

Henry forced a laugh. “Of course we are, idiot, did you think I would be able to live a day longer knowing you killed yourself and I could have stopped it?”

Robert gave a weak laugh himself. “God, you… You are a fucking idiot, Henry.” He wheezed, and closed his eyes. “We are both idiots… How long have you loved me? I have loved you for so many years, Henry…”

“Oh, god, Robert, I don’t know how long. Probably since… Since we met.” Henry began to feel a horrendous twisting agony in his stomach, so much worse than when he turned into Edward Hyde, so much worse than anything else he’d felt before.

Robert laughed a little louder. “We’re both idiots, indeed.” He said softly, and was quiet for a while until he decided to open his eyes once more.

He saw Henry, his most beloved, above him, his smile gone, his fake laughter gone, his optimism all gone… Robert wasn’t going to stand for it.

“I’m so sorry this happened to us, Henry.” He mumbled, reaching up to try to catch Henry’s tears. “I have to go now…”

“No!” Henry cried. “No, not yet, I know we have to, but please, one more minute…!”

Robert allowed himself to smile blissfully, and he twisted around so he could get closer to Henry, planting another small kiss on his lips. “Smile, Henry…” He whispered.

There was nothing more Henry Jekyll could do than scream when Robert Lanyon officially drew his last breath, and numbly he drew Robert close, savouring the last of his warmth as his own heart stopped pumping blood for his body.

He numbly noticed the door fly open, and a flurry of voices crying his name, Edward’s name, and his darling Robert’s name.

He couldn’t focus… he couldn’t move…

“To Hell with us…” Henry Jekyll whispered, as his last breath escaped him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *blows kiss* goodnight everybody!
> 
> i will be uploading one more chapter, i'm not sure when, but likely in the next couple of weeks, filled with things my co-author toastyrabbit.tumblr.com and i skipped, how we got the idea, and things we had to cut or wanted to add but couldnt.
> 
> look forward to that, and in the meantime, thank you so so so much for reading, commenting, crying with us (yeah we've cried for this story), and supporting this wild wild story. we certainly wouldnt have had the motivation to write it without each and every one of you, and we hope you'll join us on our next big project, whatever that may be and wherever it may take us
> 
> we love you, and have a great rest of ur cry <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you have feedback to give, you are more than welcome to leave it here in the comments, or shoot me a message or ask on my tumblr, meefling.tumblr.com !!


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